7-Eleven Gets Ready to Toast 85 Years of Convenience

DALLAS -- 7-Eleven will celebrate its 85th year in the convenience store business with its annual 7-Eleven Day giveaway. On Wednesday, July 11, participating stores in the U.S. and Canada will offer free 7.11-ounce Slurpees between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time.

"7-Eleven Day, or free Slurpee Day, gets bigger and more popular every year," said 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto. "This year we expect to give away 7 million Slurpee drinks, more than ever before, beating last year's offer by 2 million. On July 11th, we at 7-Eleven will recognize our 85th year as the retail leader of convenience, and it will mark the 45th birthday of our iconic drink -- the Slurpee. But the day is also when we do something special to thank customers for their support and welcome new guests."

For customers who want to be extra festive, the company created tiny, downloadable birthday attire including Slurpee-themed hair bows, bowties and miniature party hats. They can be found at www.7-eleven.com or www.slurpee.com/Rewards.

7-Eleven Slurpee partner Six Flags is joining in on the celebration by offering the special admission price of $7.11 to guests after 7:11 p.m. on 7-Eleven Day when they present a store receipt dated 7/11/12. Theme Park guests will also receive a VIP wristband to attend the "Exclusive 7-Eleven Coasters After Dark" event that evening. Additional information is available at www.Slurpee.com and www.sixflags.com.

Cinemark Theatres will also give away 7.11-ounce Slurpees at participating theaters in Dallas, Houston, Salt Lake City and Portland from 7 to 11 p.m. on July 11.

"This is a tasty way to get Slurpee lovers to sample our refreshing summer flavors, especially our new sugar-free Slurpee Lite," said Laura Gordon, 7-Eleven vice president of brand innovation. "And, we plan to keep the fun rolling on all summer long. For example, during July, we offer the new flavors of Fanta Sugar-Free Strawberry Banana and a delicious Fanta Lemon Creme along with our regular Slurpee flavors."

7-Eleven, which began operating in the summer of 1927 when a Southland Ice Co. employee started selling bread, milk and eggs on an ice dock in a Dallas suburb, has celebrated its birthday on July 11 for decades, but only began hosting coast-to-coast birthday parties with free Slurpee drinks for customers in 2002.

The company also recently launched its Big Summer Instant Win Game & Sweepstakes, as CSNews Online previously reported.

"We kicked off the summer with SlurpFREE Day and the new Slurpee Lite right before Memorial Day, we continue the party on 7-Eleven Day, and the Big Summer Sweeps keeps the fun going all summer long," stated Gordon.

Dallas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses approximately 9,300 stores in North America.