(), a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

AEON The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...

, operates the Ministop

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

franchise chain in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Unlike most other convenience stores in Japan, Ministop stores feature a kitchen that prepares

sandwiches A sandwich is a dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''container'' or ...

, snacks and take out

bento A is a Japanese-style single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch, typically including rice and packaged in a box with a lid (often a segmented box with different parts of the meal placed in different sections). Outside Japa ...

boxes on demand, and has a seating area where customers can sit down and eat immediately.

Products

The usual Japanese convenience store goods are available, such as

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

comic books,

soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used to be natural, but now can also be artificial. The sweet ...

contraceptives Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

onigiri , also known as or , is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese rice ball made from white rice. It is usually formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes, and wrapped in ''nori'' (seaweed). Onigiri traditionally have sour or salty fillings such as ''um ...

; services include bill payment, photocopying, ticket purchase for events and ATM access. Ministop also has its own unique brand of

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

. The menu varies according to season and periodical promotions. A typical selection might include

hot dogs A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

, frozen desserts such as their flagship soft serve ice cream, kariman and '' chūkaman''—

baozi Baozi (), or simply bao, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steaming, steamed. They are a variation of ...

-style buns with various fillings.

International operations

As of 2024, Ministop operates 164 stores in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, and is currently the only operation outside Japan.

Former operations

Ministop also operated in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

South Korea

The first Ministop store in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

opened in November 1990 in

Mok-dong Mok-dong () is a ward of Yangcheon District, Seoul, South Korea. Commonly referred to as a "special education district", the upper-middle to upper-class neighborhood is best known for its abundance of private institutions, or Hagwons, as well as ...

, as a joint-venture with Daesang Corporation; Ministop bought Daesang's stake in the venture in 2003. As of October 2017, there were 2418 operating Ministop stores.https://minstop.com/ In January 2022,

Lotte Corporation Lotte Corporation is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Lotte was founded on 28 June 1948 by Korean businessman Shin Kyuk- ...

acquired the entire stake of Ministop Korea Co. for 313.37 billion won ($263 million). All the Ministop store were gradually converted to

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

after acquisition.

Philippines

In December of 2000, the Japan-based convenience store chain Ministop made its way to the Philippines, being brought to the country by Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. in partnership with Ministop Japan and Mitsubishi Corporation. In January 2022, Robinsons Group assumed full ownership of the Ministop business in the Philippines with 460 branches. It was announced that the stores would be rebranded as Uncle John's, after the flagship

fried chicken Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...

product sold in the Philippine market since 2006.

References

External links

* *
Ministop Philippines (Robinsons Convenience Stores, Inc.)
Aeon Group Companies based in Chiba Prefecture Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Convenience stores of Japan Convenience stores of the Philippines Japanese brands Retail companies of Japan Retail companies established in 1980 {{japan-company-stub