Tokyo – The first foreigner used to direct 7-eleven expressed confidence on Friday that the Japanese convenience store chain will continue to attract economic clients, even in an economic deceleration.
But Stephen Hayes Dacus, an American with a Japanese mother, refused to comment on the details of the various investment plans that are now studied, including A proposal for the acquisition of the power faced by Canada.
A special committee of the company, which is not part, is responsible for studying the options “totally objectively,” he said.
“The process advances in a very constructive way,” said Dacus, who is currently a director, to a small group of reporters at the headquarters of seven AND I Holdings Co., which operates 7-eleven.
His appointment as executive director still needs the approval of the shareholders, scheduled for May. Seven AND I have increased more than 2% shares in the last year.
Fluently in Japanese and English, Dacus said he was determined to build a leadership culture that he learned to admire his experience working in Walmart, Uniqlo and other retailers.
“If you are not humble, you are not listening to your customers. You are not learning. But if you are not aggressive, your competitors will beat you,” he said.
Dacus emphasized the The 7-Eleven chain was growing worldwide. But the stores were different by nation, and their intention was not to duplicate the “Conbini” of Japanese style, as they are known here.
The reduction of costs can be delivered with a better supply chain, for example, taking advantage of the global scope of the chain, while a cheapest recipe for a food will simply move away customers, Dacus said.
“This business in Japan has been based on innovation,” he said.
While declining comments on the policies of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, acknowledged that buyers will probably harden their bags in a deceleration.
The answer is to be the first option to buy, Dacus said, and pointed out that his mother and Japanese relatives who observed never wasted anything. They would wrap the remains of dinner in the restaurants on paper to take home, he recalled.
“If you want to talk to some difficult customers, you’re going to talk to my aunts,” he said.
“Japanese customers are incredibly demanding. That is something that really resonates with me. And that forms the way I think of retail trade.”
___
Yuri Kageyama is in threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
