7-Eleven in Taiwan

In my previous post I named 7-Eleven as the last place where I would want to buy anything (particularly food). For me 7-Eleven is the store of last resort - it's a place that I would visit only when every other store is closed.

However, according to my Taiwanese friends (which includes my Taiwanese wife), in Taiwan 7-Eleven is the first place they would go to for their shopping and food needs. 7-Eleven is hugely popular in Taiwan, and during my visit to Taiwan I found out why:

The stores are very clean and well-lit, with attractive interior decor and pleasant background music. They offer very fresh and tasty food items like bento (boxed lunches), sandwiches, noodles, pastries and desserts. They also have a multitude of really cute and fun toys for kids, which is why kids in Taiwan get excited at the idea of visiting 7-Eleven! In contrast, when was the last time you saw an American kid go ga-ga over 7-Eleven?

It's all in the way the 7-Eleven stores are managed and marketed over there.