7-Eleven goes upscale, sort of. They're selling their own private-label store brand
You see them in a lot of grocery stores, private labels -- the in-store brands that are on the shelves with well known products. For instance, Walmart has Sam's Choice. The grocery store chain Kroger has For Maximum Value, the name of a brand attached to sugar, flour, bread and canned goods up to Private Selections, which covers the high-end foods like organics. Walgreen's has Finest Natural, which covers natural foods. Safeway has Eating Right as a private label covering healthy foods. Well, you get the idea.
And now 7-Eleven, a convenience store that I'm betting almost every American and Canadian has visited at one time or another, is firmly in the act. They have a brand called the 7-Select line. It's been around since 2004 on 32 products, but they're expanding to cover 180 items, from cookies and candy to beef jerky and chocolate covered pretzels.
It's a smart move for 7-Eleven. According to BusinessWeek, this is an $81 billion business and has risen more than 10 percent in the past year.
