Siva Chengalvala is leading a team of one recruit and six redeployed team members at new 7-Eleven Richmond West. The new look store at 123-125 Bridge Road is Mr Chengalvala’s first experience in managing a brand-new store.

“I started in 7-Eleven as a franchisee team member in 2015 and joined the corporate store team in 2016. I become a store manager in 2018 and have managed several corporate stores across Melbourne. This is the first new store I have opened, and I’m honoured to have been chosen to lead the team in this store,” Mr Chengalvala said.

The new store will cater to local commuters and MCG patrons in the future.  In the meantime, the team are focused on meeting the local residents in the area and serving the team from the nearby hospital.

“We are looking forward to meeting local commuters and others who normally spend time in this area later on, but we are enjoying meeting the locals who live in this community. We are very proud to also serve the essential workers and medical team at the hospital with food, coffee and basic essentials while they work to look after Victorians.”

According to 7-Eleven Victorian State Manager, Marc Costabile, the opening of the new store has allowed team members impacted by COVID-19, particularly those from CBD stores, to be redeployed.

“As a business we are still growing, we have opened three new stores in Victoria in the last week. However, some of our stores in the city are currently on temporary limited trading hours or temporarily closed while lockdowns are in place. Being able to redeploy some of our team members to open this store and serve those in the area, particularly the team at the Epworth Hospital, has been wonderful,” Mr Costabile said.

Mr Costabile said this store has a new look and is the first non-fuel store that has been opened by the brand in Victoria in several years. 

“This store looks a bit different to our existing stores. It has an extensive food offer, including a coffee island, and the first Fresh Blends Smoothie machine in our Victorian network,” he said.

The new store will provide a range of convenient products and services. Shoppers will be able to grab their favourite products and fill up at any time as the store will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It will feature a full range of fresh food and convenience options including; 7-Eleven’s handmade sandwiches, wraps and Krispy Kreme doughnuts which are delivered fresh every day, as well as 7-Eleven’s $1 freshly ground coffee, and Slurpee including Slurpee Low Sugar options.

Mr Costabile said the growth in 7-Eleven’s network is providing opportunities for team members to develop their careers.

“Siva joined our network in 2015, became a corporate store team member in 2016 and has progressed to his current role as store manager. Siva’s team includes newly promoted assistant store manager Dinish Sathi, who has worked as a team member across our franchised and corporate network. Most of our new build stores open as corporate stores, allowing our corporate store team to progress in their careers. As a leader, watching your team members take advantage of the career opportunities created from their hard work and talent is incredibly rewarding,” Mr Costabile said.

Growth in the 7-Eleven network has strong, with approximately 30 stores opening each year nationally.

“It’s important to us that we continue to build a network of stores in convenient local areas that fulfil the needs of our customers,” Mr Costabile concluded.