Coffee and sustainability have been the twin drivers 7-Eleven’s recent success, said CEO Angus McKay at this week’s 2018 Supplier Awards and Business Update in Melbourne.
McKay, who hosted the awards, claimed the company is reaching higher than ever to delight its customers, and is succeeding.
Holding court
The awards took place at the beautiful Margaret Court Arena in the heart of the Victorian capital. 7-Eleven gathered suppliers and partners together to showcase many of the fresh innovations designed to keep its customers returning.
The awards were: Best New Product Launch, Best New Product Launch for 7-Eleven Brand, Best Customer Experience, Supply Chain Excellence, Outstanding Service, Innovative Thinking, Sustainable and Ethical Excellent, Account Manager of the Year and Supplier of The Year.
Supplier of the Year winner was Suntory Coffee (right).
Simply Cups, simply coffee
Mr McKay said the biggest driver of 7-Eleven’s success in recent years was its sales of coffee. Six years ago, the company averaged sales of just six cups per store per day across its entire network. This figure has now risen to an impressive 338 cups. The goal is to hit a target of 500, Mr McKay said.
Sustainability was also a key topic. Mr McKay reflected on 7-Eleven’s “pioneering partnership” with Simply Cups, which has rescued four million coffee cups from landfill. Of these four million, more than a quarter (1.5 million) were collected from recycling units in 7-Eleven stores.
The program also enables the recycling of coffee lids and straws through the Simply Cups recycling units. In addition, 7-Eleven stores sell and welcome reusable cups, Mr McKay said.
As well as looking back, he also looked to the future.
He said 7-Eleven was aiming to have at least two coffee machines in every store. He also outlined plans for fresh bakery goods, a transformed store network, digital payment systems throughout, convenience parcel lockers, and a “next-generation” supply chain.
