Thursday, October 23, 2008

7-Eleven... or '7' as Thais call it



One of the things I like about Thailand is its 7-Eleven. Alright, you would probably wonder why 7-Eleven and it is not even originated here. Well, Thailand has this talent to take a foreign franchise and make it better than the original.

First of all, 7-Elevens are everywhere in Bangkok and the local call it ‘7’ (I don’t know why). For example near my office on Silom, there are 4 7-Elevens on a stretch of 20 minutes walk. They come in various sizes, range from compact size to big comfortable space. It is literally a ‘convenience store’ because it is really near to where ever you are. Nearby my house, there are 3 7-Elevens within 3 minutes of driving from my house. And another one is 5 minutes walking distance from my house. There are more than 30,000 branches in Thailand!

When you enter a 7-Elevens here in Thailand, after hearing the ‘ding-dong’ from the door chime, you would be greeted ‘Sawasdee Kah!’ by the cashiers. They certainly make shoppers comfortable shopping here. Some shops also play music for your shopping pleasure.

I am really impressed by the variety of goods they sell here in 7-Eleven. You can expect to find your normal snack, beverages, bread, stationary and etc here. Besides that, you can also find a section call ‘Book Smile’ in bigger shops that sell magazines, newspaper, CDs and books. In terms of food, some 7-Elevens also have a food counter that sell warm “bao”, hot dog, burger, coffee, and also provide warm water for instant noodle in foam cup. There is also a frozen food area where shoppers can find frozen food such as rice with dishes, eggs, dumpling soup, salad etc. Basically, the list goes on and on.

Every month, 7-Eleven will have special promotions. There are things you can buy with very low price when you purchase up to a certain amount of merchandise. Most of the 7-Elevens here also have an ATM for your convenience. And if I am not wrong, I think they even have 7-Eleven Value card! I will have to find out about it.

So when you visit Thailand, feel free to stop by a 7-Eleven.


7 comments:

Ken said...

LOL seems like you're promoting their '7' for them...besides '7' i like to shop at 'Boots'. There are things i could find in 'Boots' but not here in Msia ;)

Wei Khean said...

Haha... not trying to promote their '7', just stating the fact and sharing what I see in Bangkok. In comparison, KL's 7-11 is really pathetic!

Wei Khean said...

Oh, yeah, Boots is a good place to shop too.. almost like Watson's, but Boots is from the UK, I think.

-Lek Wei- said...

I think the '7' don't have what a big difference compare with Malaysia ones right. The most impressive is the 7-Eleven Value Card is provided.

Unknown said...

such a big difference compared to what we have in KL. the food especially! somehow makes me think about our after school tuition at kasturi where we'll go to "hop-in" or 7-eleven for a quick bite before tuition..... good old days. yup, boots' pretty good - quite a few in dubai & yes from the UK - in the old old days, if i am not wrong, it was known as boots cash chemist....... an old contract case authority in the UK

Wei Khean said...

lek-wei, u have to come to bangkok and see it for yourself :)

Lee, thanks for the info about Boots... wonder when will it come to M'sia :)

Ken said...

whenever i'm in bangkok I would shop @ boots to buy most of things to bring back...LOL cause they carry some of the brands there don't have :)