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Ito Masatoshi, the Japanesebillionaireentrepreneur who turned7-Eleveninto a global retail powerhouse, has died from old age at 98.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of 7-Eleven, confirmed his death in a statement posted online.
A translation of the statement from Japanese to English reads: “Our honorary chairman Masatoshi Ito passed away on March 10, 2023 (Friday) due to old age. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to him for his kindness during his lifetime.” A funeral was held for close relatives.
Ito was worth about$4.5 billion and was the eighth wealthiest person in Japan, according toForbes. Seven & I Holdings turns over about $80 billion in revenue each year and Ito was the group’s largest shareholder.
Japan’s state broadcaster NHK reportedIto first founded clothing store Ito Yokadoin 1958 and then expanded its offerings to include foods and other grocery items. He would go on to set up 7-Eleven Japan as well as bring the family restaurant chain Denny’s to Japan.
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His business prowess and knack for understanding consumers created the powerhouse retail group, Seven & I Holdings - which now operates more than 83,000 stores around the world. The business employs about 100,000 people and its brands include 7-Eleven and the U.S. chain Speedway.
The iconic7-Eleven originally started in Dallas, Texasin 1927 when the world’s first convenience store opened under the name Southland Ice Company. It rebranded in 1946 to reflect its new business hours, open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Ito’s involvement started in 1974 when he opened a 7-Eleven franchise in Japan. By 1991, his firm had taken control of Southland and therapid expansion of its convenience storeswas well underway.
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Early in his career, thebillionaire formed a close relationship with the late Peter F. Drucker,a management guru based in the U.S. who worked with General Electric, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Intel, and a variety of non-profits and governments.
According to Drucker, Ito was “one of the world’s outstanding entrepreneurs and business builders.”
Ito leaves behind his wife, Nobuko, had three children, Yasuhisa, Hisako and Junro.
source: people.com
