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7-Eleven

Owner: Seven & I Holdings
Country: Japan

Home to the Slurpee and the Big Gulp, 7-Eleven convenience stores boast selling the most hot dogs in Washington, D.C., the most coffee on Long Island, and the most nachos in Colorado. The chain, which pioneered the convenience store concept, began in 1927 at the Southland Ice Co. in Dallas when an enterprising worker began to sell milk, bread, and eggs on evenings and Sundays. Eight decades later, 7-Eleven operates, franchises, or licenses 34,000 stores in 14 countries. In 2005 it was acquired by the parent of its former Japanese affiliate, a retail giant called Seven & I Holdings that also owns the Seibu department store chain and operates Denny's restaurants in Japan.