7-Eleven is a chain of small convenience stores which operates in 20 countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong etc.
The company started in Oak Cliff, Texas (a neighborhood of Dallas) in 1927 and started to use the 7-Eleven name in 1946; the previous branding of these stores was as "Speedee-Mart." The majority of today's 7-Eleven stores are operated in Japan since a Japanese company purchased the majority interest of the parent company, the Southland Corporation, in 1991.
Initially these stores used to be open from 7 AM to 11 PM, hence the name. Now most of the stores in this chain are open at all times. Their most well-known private label products include Slurpees (a partially frozen slurry in a number of flavours) and the Big Gulp (super size soda pop in 32, 44, 52, and 64 fluid ounce sizes).
In the United States and Canada, a limited number of 7-Eleven locations have gas stations with gasoline distributed by Citgo and Shell Canada, respectively.
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