Who was Toshifumi Suzuki: Japan's 'retail god' who founded 7-Eleven, dies aged 93

Toshifumi Suzuki, the founder of 7-Eleven Japan, who was widely recognized as the ‘retail god,’ passed away at age 93 on May 18, 2026.

Suzuki died of cardiac arrest, the company said in a statement on Monday, May 25.

“We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to him during his lifetime and respectfully inform you of his passing,” the statement read.

Suzuki was born in Nagano in 1932.

He went on to work at a book wholesaler before joining retailer brand Ito-Yokado in 1963.

Suzuki collaborated with Southland Corp. (an offshoot of the U.S. operator of 7-Eleven,initiating Seven-Eleven Japan in 1973, and the very next year, he opened its first outlet in Tokyo.

Suzuki intriduced innovations to the retail store business, with 24hr operations, as well as other essential services including ATMs and utility bill payments.

He became president of Seven-Eleven Japan in 1978, and after the merger of the group’s supermarket and family restaurant businesses, he set up Seven & I Holdings and assumed the role of chairman and CEO.

Under his chairmanship, the company expanded its growth, becoming the retail conglomerate in Japan.

Due to legal woes, he resigned from the company’s chairmanship in 2016 and remained a pioneering figure in Japan’s retail industry.