Toshifumi Suzuki, father of Japan's convenience stores, dies at 93

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IN MEMORIAM. Toshifumi Suzuki, chairman and CEO of Seven And I Holdings Co Ltd, speaks during an interview with Reuters at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, December 18, 2013.

Toshifumi Suzuki partnered with the US-based operator of 7-Eleven to launch Seven-Eleven Japan in 1973, opening the first store in Tokyo the following year

TOKYO, Japan – Toshifumi Suzuki, the founder of Seven-Eleven Japan and widely regarded as the father of Japan’s convenience store industry, died of heart failure on May 18, Seven & I Holdings said on Monday, May 25. He was 93.

Born in Nagano in 1932, Suzuki joined retailer Ito-Yokado in 1963 after working at a book wholesaler. Despite early skepticism, he partnered with US-based Southland Corporation, the operator of 7-Eleven, to launch Seven-Eleven Japan in 1973, opening the first store in Tokyo the following year.