In her popular novel, Convenience Store Woman, Japanese author Sayaka Murata tells the story of Keiko Furukura, a worker at an unnamed convenience Store who is struggling to find a place in a traditional society due to her status as an unmarried 36-year-old with a blue-collar job.
日本作家村田沙耶香在热门小说《人间便利店》中，讲述了古仓惠子的故事：她在一家无名便利店中打工，未婚，已经36岁，挣扎着在那个传统的社会中找到一处安身之所
However, the true star of the unorthodox characters story is her workplace, described as a tiny ecosystem, aimed not only at providing consumers nourishment, but also infusing their lives with new sources of joy. A convenience store is not merely a place Where customers come to buy practical necessities, said Furukura in the novels opening pages. "It has to be somewhere they can enjoy and take pleasure in discovering things they like.”
不过，书中真正要刻画的是她工作的地方，便利店被形容为一个迷你生态系统，不仅为消费者提供营养食品，还让他们的生活充满新乐趣。它不只是消费者来买生活物品的地方，古仓惠子在小说开头就说，“这里还必须能让他们发现自己喜欢的东西，并乐在其中。”
although I read the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel before my trip to Japan, the description above struck me as overly romantic. However, as someone who has made the mistake of equating fast food with low quality, I was surprised to find that Japanese convenience stores, such as 7-eleven, Family Mart and Lawson (the three companies that claim the lion’s share of the Japanese market), served as an introduction to local tastes, leading me to skip the basic crisps I’d usually grab at home in favour of sampling flavours like mayonnaise, ume (a fruit in the plum family) and soy sauce. I also found myself considering freshly made onigiri rice balls, grab-and-go udon noodles and traditional buns with flavours like pizza, sweet bean and pumpkin cream. It might not have been as utopic as Murata led me to believe, but even as a foreigner who needed help counting her change, the variety of the goods and the ease of finding a cheap lunch left a lasting impression.
虽然我在日本之行前就读了这本芥川奖获奖小说，可当时还是觉得上述文字写得太浪漫了。可是，作为曾经错把快餐等同于低质代名词的我，惊喜地发现日本便利店中出售的食品可让人一览当地饮食偏好，例如7-Eleven、全家和罗森（日本市场三大便利店）。这样一来，我不会买平时在家吃的薯片口味，而会试试那些新奇的口味，像蛋黄酱味、乌梅味和酱油味。我还会考虑尝试新鲜制作的饭团、速食乌冬面和不同口味的传统圆面包，比如披萨味、豆沙味和奶油南瓜味。虽然购吃体验不如书中描述的那么活色生香，但作为一个找零也需要帮助的外国游客，里面食品种类之多以及价廉物美的午餐让我印象深刻。
Karen Gardiner. A Scottish writer now based in the United States, lived in Tokyo for two years, beginning in 2005. As a temporary expat, she shared the joy I found in the country's convenience stores (or konbini as they're referred to in Japan) Any nearby store became a regular part of her routine.
卡伦·加德纳，苏格兰作家，曾居东京两年，现驻美国，于2005年开始写作。她是个短期侨民，对当地便利店（日语称为konbini）的喜爱同我一样，附近的店家她都常去。
I’d only buy food from an American convenience store if I was really desperate—actually, I went into a 7-eleven in Baltimore a few weeks ago when desperate and still didn't buy anything, she said. "They seem quite grim, like stuff has been sitting there for ages. I think someone visiting the US from Japan would be quite disappointed if they walked into a store here… I'd eat [in Japan] when I was out or on the way to or from work or just needed a quick egg sandwich or onigiri.”
除非我真的很饿，不然不会买美国便利店里的食物——其实几周前，我当时很饿，就去了巴尔的摩的一家7-Eleven，可还是什么也没买。她说，“吃的看上去都不新鲜，好像已经放了很久。我觉得日本游客来美国，走进便利店可能会很失望……不管是外出、上下班路上抑或只是需要一个简易鸡蛋三明治或饭团，日本便利店的食物从未让我失望。
You Tuber and Twitch streamer Cory May, who recently moved back to Japan after 20 years away from his home country recalled his first impressions of convenience stores in the US. “I remember how weird it was to see Slushee machines and nothing but greasy hot dogs rolling around under a heat lamp at a 7-eleven in America,” he said. “It was so weird looking to me for some reason.”
科里·嵋，网络主播，离家二十年后近日重回日本，他回忆对美国便利店的第一印象时说：“记得当时在美国的一家7-Eleven里只看到思乐冰制作机还有那油滋滋的热狗在保温灯照射下滚动，感觉太奇怪了。”
本新闻解读首发于2019年07月30日，新闻来源：BBC
原文链接：
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190610-the-unique-culture-of-japanese-convenience-stores
作者: Laura Studarus
文本难度：★★★★☆
话题难度：★★★★☆
便利店，不止于便利
日本第一家真正意义上的便利店7-Eleven于1974年正式开业，如今便利店在日本已遍地开花，除了7-Eleven、全家和罗森三大连锁便利店，还有SUNKUS、MINI STOP和NEWDAY等品牌。店内商品齐全，提供各类熟食、生鲜、自营食品和现煮咖啡，食品的季节感强，品质有保证且价格合算。此外，便利店内通常还提供Wi-Fi、快递、邮政、票务、取款、缴费、干洗和影印等一站式生活服务，设有就餐区和洗手间，旨在把便利做到极致。然而，根据日本各大型便利店公司2018年度的财务报告，行业内出现较大规模亏损，各大便利店也因而纷纷转变经营策略，例如缩短部分门店营业时间和引进自动结帐系统等等。
1974年，日本第一家7-ELEVEN便利店在东京开业。
如今44年过去，这家便利店已裂变成70000家，成为全球最大连锁便利店。2016财年，7-ELEVEN人均创造利润116万人民币，阿里为117万人民币，而亚马逊、沃尔玛均不到5万人民币。
一家传统的零售店，是如何在互联网电商的冲击下，不但生存了下来，还做到超越沃尔玛比肩阿里的业绩？
“审视每一件商品，仔细思考”，铃木敏文就像打磨艺术品一样，进行严苛的单品管理。他放弃单纯追求销售额的策略，与产品死磕到底。每一款产品的上架，背后都经过了7-ELEVEN的内部测试、员工汇报、数据分析等程序。一旦发现产品没有其他商家的美味，就会从原料、加工等方面彻查两者间的差异，并做出改进，直到对产品满意为止。炒饭是7-ELEVEN的另一款热门商品，曾经火爆各大门店。但在后来的评测中，因为味道没达到要求，被公司内部下架处理。紧接着，7-ELEVEN找专家，测炒锅温度，光是研发新炒锅前后就花了1年零8个月，直到炒出满意的味道，才重新上市。不仅如此，7-ELEVEN还拥有强大的自有品牌和鲜食产品开发能力，可根据消费者的需求开发自有品牌产品，并对消费者需求做出及时反馈。
目前，7-ELEVEN旗下拥有众多自有品牌，涉及面包、便当、关东煮等优质鲜食，更有日本最大的便利店自主品牌Seven Premium。强大的自有品牌和开发能力，使得7-ELEVEN拥有远高于同行的毛利率水平。
2016财年，7-ELEVEN人均创造利润116万人民币，阿里为117万人民币，而亚马逊、沃尔玛均不到5万人民币。
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