单项选择题
| At 67, CEO Toshifnmi Suzuki has enjoyed
a distinguished career as the retailing visionary who made Seven-Eleven Japan
CO, the country’s No.1 convenience-store chain. But just when other execs would
be winding down, Suzuki is gearing up for his next big challenge: to turn
Seven-Eleven into an online shopping behemoth. In February, he gathered seven
partners, including Sony, NEC, and Mitsui, the giant trading house, to develop
e-commerce services ranging from book and ticket sales to online distribution of
music and photos. By June, 7dream. com will be a reality. "With our large
network of stores and distribution base, we’re attracting powerful partners,"
Suzuki says proudly. Suzuki has long been a pioneer. In 1974 he opened the first konbini, as convenience stores are known in Japan. He was first to install an electronic inventory and sales system and to offer fast foods. In 1987, Seven-Eleven started accepting payments on behalf of utilities. Last year, it collected some ＄6 billion in such fees--earning commissions as well as increased traffic. Suzuki and his partners are putting ＄375 million into 7dream. com. The concept is simple: After placing orders on the Web, customers pick up and pay for them at any Seven-Eleven shop. Seven-Eleven attracts 2.6 billion customers yearly--a daily average of 950 per shop. And polls show that as many as 70% of Japanese dislike using credit cards for online purchases. "The Japanese would rather pick up their goods and pay for them at a konbini," observes Morihiko Ida, head of equities research at Century Securities. "So they could boost Net sales." There’s no guarantee the model will work. Konbini accounted for a tiny part of Japan’s ＄3.2 billion in consumer e-commerce last year. And if the idea catches on, it may not last. "In the short term, they’ll be major players because of their networks," says Hirokazu Ishii, analyst at Nikko Salomon Smith Barney in Tokyo. "But the Japanese will begin using electronic cash and home delivery, like Americans." Maybe so. But Seven-Eleven’s competitors certainly aren’t waiting to find out. Lawson Products Inc., the No.2 convenience store chain, now plans an e-commerce group, as do five other chains, led by third-ranked Family Mart. Stilt, Suzuki’s allies, which include top media, travel, retail, and Net technology companies, give him an early lead. And while he has no plans to go into such activities as lending, he has drawn interest from a number of prominent institutions. Suzuki isn’t betting the store on his new venture. But he thinks he has at least one more big coup left in him before taking it easy. |
Which of the following statements about Suzuki is TRUE