7-Eleven building store in parking lot of another 7-Eleven amid dispute
Apr. 5
06:00 am JST
Apr. 5 | 06:27 am JST
TOKYO
For almost all of 2019, a lone 7-Eleven franchisee in Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, made national headlines after it challenged the corporate policy of staying open 24 hours a day. Citing lack of staff as the reason, the owner Mitoshi Matsumoto took it upon himself to close overnight.
In response, on Dec 31, 2019, the company ended their contract with Matsumoto claiming that they had received complaints about the way he treated customers. Normally, this would mean the shop would close, but Matsumoto surprised everyone by continuing to run the store for a few weeks after.