While I am a true lover of 7-Eleven the standards cary greatly from country to country. And it is with this in mind that I really have to ask why is Malaysian 7-Eleven so bad?
Well the answers here are myriad, but essentially boil down to the eating culture of Malaysia.
7-Eleven in Southeast Asia
In total 7 of the 11 ASEAN nations have a 7-Eleven, with varying degrees of quality.
Thailand: Over 13,000 stores, making it the largest 7-Eleven market in ASEAN. Operated by CP All, it dominates the convenience store scene. Joint top with Philippines for quality in the region (according to me).
Philippines: Approximately 3,500 stores, second only to Thailand. Run by Philippine Seven Corporation, it has a strong presence nationwide. A true savior.
Malaysia: Around 2,400 stores, widely spread across urban and suburban areas. The worst in the region.
Singapore: Over 400 stores. Compact but significant in Singapore’s retail ecosystem. Quite expensive, but then so is everything here,
.Vietnam: Over 100 stores, concentrated in urban hubs like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Really turning into a great alternative in what is already a great retail scene,
.Cambodia: A small but growing network, starting with Phnom Penh stores since 2021 it is, but things have consistently better.
.Laos: Recently launched in 2023, with a limited presence that is expected to grow in the coming year. I managed to visit one store in Vientiane and it was pretty decent, particularly compared to other options.
ASEAN Countries without 7-Eleven:
- Brunei – No plans for this boring country to do something interesting.
- Myanmar – Various talks about 7-Eleven entering the market, but these have been hampered by the war.
- Timor-Leste – Smile of Cambodia left during troubles in the country with this sector severely lacking in the country.
- Indonesia – Indonesia has 7-11 from 2009 – 2017, but amazingly closed due to local competition. This is fairly crazy as Indonesian convince stores are really bad.
What is so bad about Malaysian 7-Eleven?
For this we partly have to concentrate on why others such as Beijing, Shenzhen and the aforementioned of ASEAN are so good and this is primarily for the food. Malaysian 7-Eleven do not offer any food at all that is not noodles, or chips. In fact when searching food we were told to go next door to Orange. Orange is another brand that is not much better and only offered fatty microwave dishes.
And when you take this away it turns Malaysian 7-Eleven into something with no relevance. In Manila or Thailand for example you know that you can go in at any time and get street food to rival anything on the street, with even Kampot being a form example of this. In fact there are not even sandwiches, another benchmark of what 7-Eleven is or should aspire to be.
Why is Malaysian 7-Eleven so bad?
As to why Malaysian 7-Eleven is so bad much must go down to the franchisee here who has done the bare bones, but also in reality it falls to the public too. Business is business and this obviously works.
I personally feel that this is affected by local tastes and indeed dare a say fatness. Candy shops are everywhere in Malaysia and while there is a street food scene processed meals, chips and the like are preferred.
The nation is not at all pedestrian friendly either, which means people are fatter and I feel at least points back to tastes. People want processed shit rather than fresh food and that is what they get.
And the net result? The worst 7-Eleven in the region with there being little chance of improvement any time soon.