`Global warming effects' give Slurpee a break

Slurpee drinks, 7-Eleven's first own-brand product, have made a comeback in northern Taiwan from last year, and the local operator expects the latest marketing campaign will have a whirlwind effect later this year.

President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), which owns the world's third-largest 7-Eleven franchise, started serving the frozen carbonated beverage in the 1980s. As sales performances in the north dwindled, the company made Slurpee a regional product, available only in the south, in 1998.

"As many consumers outside southern Taiwan complained about having no Slurpee to drink, and as we think global warming effects will continue, President Chain decided to relaunch the product nationwide last year," said Ray Chen (陳瑞堂), chief marketing officer of President Chain Store, during a press conference yesterday.

More than 3,300 7-Eleven stores, or more than 70 percent of its locations, are equipped with Slurpee machines with an estimated investment topping NT$1 billion (US$31 million).

The stores expect to sell more than 100 million Slurpee drinks this year, with income reaching NT$1.5 billion.

"Taiwan has become the world's third-largest Slurpee consumption market, only after the US and Canada," he said.

"We are confident this unique product will drive up our store sales," he said.

Taiwan has sold more than 1 billion Slurpees over two decades, according to company figures.