Case Name :      7-Eleven in Taiwan: Adaptation of Convenience Stores to New Market Environments

Authors :           Shih-Fen Chen, Aihwa Chang

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            W12804

Discipline :        Marketing

Case Length :    24 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

The case portrays the expansion of 7-Eleven to Taiwan and the adaptation of the store format by its local franchisee to a new market environment. The core issue in this case is the balance between standardization and localization in business-format franchising across national borders. Keeping only the store logo and the convenience concept that was well-established in the United States, the local franchisee of 7-Eleven in Taiwan re-formatted almost all aspects of the store chain, including its positioning, location, layout, product offerings, etc. In addition, 7-Eleven in Taiwan introduced a wide variety of new services to handle daily chores for its customers, ranging from e-commerce (train or movie tickets), e-payment, mobile communications, pickup/delivery to taxi services. The local franchisee, President Chain Store Corp. (PCSC), seemed to have struck the right balance between standardization and localization that allowed it to use service differentiation to gain competitive advantages over its rivals. In about three decades, it grew from zero to nearly 5,000 stores in Taiwan with over 50 per cent of the market while expanding its reach to China and Thailand.