Franchisees Keep it in the Family

Danny Kang spent his childhood standing on milk crates while helping behind the counter of his parent's two 7-Eleven® franchise stores in California. Now, nearly 30 years later, he works behind the scenes between the two stores to improve the business by streamlining back-office processes, motivating employees with sales incentives and focusing on merchandising 7-Eleven products.

(Pictured: Danny Kang with his mother, Franchisee Helen Kang.)

Why does he work so hard? He does it for his parents, Franchisees Howard and Helen Kang.
The Kangs became 7-Eleven Franchisees in February 1981 with Store #13847 in Lake View Terrace, Calif. The family opened their second 7-Eleven franchise Store #19387 in Arleta, Calif., four years later in March 1985. Howard and Helen were entrepreneurs long before they came to 7-Eleven and attribute a part of their success at 7-Eleven to the lessons learned as owners of a restaurant and liquor store early in their career. "My parents were attracted to 7-Eleven because they were interested in finding a business that was stable and recession-proof," Danny said.

Howard and Helen say being 7-Eleven Franchisees mean working with a company with strong brand presence and loyal customers. "We have help being successful because the franchise business at 7-Eleven provides strong field support to operators like us," they said. "This gives us a competitive advantage over mom-and-pop stores and is the reason we can offer excellence to our customers."

Franchising with 7-Eleven also meant capitalizing on the opportunity to earn a living, 24-hours a day. "It's meant financial security for my family over the years," Danny said. "My family is proud to be Franchisees - it's a profitable partnership with great systems, products and procedures to help us offer only the best to our customers."

Since the 80s, the Kangs say the secret to their success is simple: Focus on keeping the customers happy by giving them what they want. The family says it views 7-Eleven as an innovator in the convenience store industry. "The company is always on the cutting edge of what's hot with trends, and my family is excited to be a part of that," Danny said.