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Our history

18 October 2018


The vision behind bringing the 7-Eleven brand to Australia was born from long term expertise of the founders of our business: the Withers and Barlow families.

The family started in grocery trade more than 100 years ago, with George H Withers opening a grocery store on Malvern Road in South Yarra. With a keen eye for retail trends, George brought one of the first Model T Ford cars in Victoria, and started a speedy and convenient delivery service for his customers. The family grew from this one store into a large part of the grocery wholesale trade in Victoria, supplying small grocery stores. 

Based on the trends in the grocery trade in the 1970s, and the pace of modern life becoming faster, the founders of 7-Eleven Australia decided that convenience retailing was the way of the future. They secured the license to operate 7-Eleven in Australia in 1976.

We opened our first store on 24 August 1977 in Oakleigh, Victoria. This was quickly followed by the first 24 hour store in Brunswick, Victoria on 20 January 1978. The concept of trading hours that were tailored to the needs of customers was revolutionary.

 The business has grown since 1977 to operate more than 680 stores in Victoria, NSW, ACT, Queensland and Western Australia. 

We’re proud to part to be part of the everyday lives of our customers. We’re there for the tradies at 5am stocking up on fuel and morning tea. We’re the coffee stop for commuters on their way to the office. We’re the providers of bread and milk for busy parents, and of snacks for students studying late into the night. We’re part of the ebb and flow of our customers’ daily lives, and we want to transform the regular moments into something great.