Crowds Gather at First 7-Eleven Opening in Zhengzhou, China... Highest Sales Record Among Global Stores

On the 23rd of last month, the first 7-Eleven store opened in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, attracting a large crowd and causing congestion. /Captured from Weibo, China

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] On the 23rd of last month, a huge crowd gathered in front of the first-ever Seven-Eleven store opening in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province.

Seven-Eleven's entry into Henan Province attracted tremendous attention from Zhengzhou citizens, with crowds gathering in front of the Zhengzhou Zhaoyin Building from early dawn. As the first Seven-Eleven store in Zhengzhou, citizens lined up in long queues and entered in groups according to their turn.

Seven-Eleven's expansion into China began in the 1990s in Guangdong Province, opening stores in Beijing in 2004 and Shanghai in 2009. Currently, it operates 8,803 stores across China, accounting for about 12.5% of its 70,207 stores worldwide.

According to a reporter from Henan Daily, even on the third day after the opening, the store remained crowded, and customers had to line up and enter in groups. The average number of people in line was about 50, and the wait time to enter was at least 20 minutes.

Among Seven-Eleven's sales by age group, young consumers aged 25 to 35 accounted for a remarkable 90%. Of these, female customers made up 70%. The best-selling products were fish cakes, chocolates and snacks, and milk beverages. Seven-Eleven coffee was also popular, with one out of every eight customers purchasing coffee.

The Seven-Eleven store opened in Zhengzhou also featured many discount events. Lucky bags priced at 178 yuan were sold at a limited quantity of 5,000 for 50 yuan, and all fresh food items were discounted by 20%.

Seven-Eleven's sales have set records every time a new store opens. The first store in Zhengzhou recorded sales of 650,000 yuan (approximately 110 million KRW) in one day on the 23rd. This surpassed the previous highest sales record of 500,000 yuan set when the first store in Hunan Province opened on May 30, making it the highest single-day sales among the 70,000 Seven-Eleven stores worldwide. When the Xi'an store and the first store in Fujian Province opened in August and November 2019 respectively, they also set new sales records with daily sales of 386,000 yuan and 418,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, regarding Chinese citizens' enthusiasm for Seven-Eleven, the Chinese-language internet media Duowei commented, "Among Taiwanese people, there is a mocking phrase 'Have you never even seen Seven-Eleven before?' referring to mainlanders lining up in front of Seven-Eleven."

Additionally, Taiwanese media mentioned that Seven-Eleven originally started in the United States and reported the news from Zhengzhou with a sarcastic headline saying, "Chinese people are lining up to buy convenience store products from the American empire."