Toshifumi Suzuki, the founder of Seven-Eleven Japan and widely regarded as the father of Japan’s convenience store industry, died of heart failure on May 18. Seven & i Holdings (3382.T) 93.

Born in Nagano in 1932, Suzuki joined retailer Ito-Yokado in 1963 after working at a book wholesaler.

Defying scepticism at the time, Suzuki ​partnered with Southland Corp, the US operator of ​7-Eleven, to launch Seven-Eleven Japan in 1973, opening the first store in Tokyo the following year.

He pioneered the use ​of data to tailor inventory and built ​a business model centred on ready-to-eat meals and rapid inventory ‌turnover, ⁠helping transform convenience stores into a cornerstone of Japan’s retail landscape.

Suzuki also led the successful restructuring and rescue of Southland in the early 1990s ​after the ​7-Eleven parent ⁠filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt from a leveraged buyout.

Suzuki went ​on to establish Seven & i Holdings ​in ⁠2005 and oversaw its expansion into a retail conglomerate.

The avid book reader stepped down as chairman ⁠in ​2016 after a management dispute ​but remained an influential figure in Japan’s retail industry.