New Delhi, May 29 -- Toshifumi Suzuki, the Japanese businessman credited with creating the 7-Eleven convenience-chain global retail empire, has died. He was 93.

Suzuki, an honorary adviser at Seven & i Holdings, died on May 18 of heart failure at his Tokyo home, the company said Monday.

Suzuki founded the Japanese unit that operates the seemingly ubiquitous 7-Eleven "conbini" outlets, where busy people can hop in and grab sandwiches, rice balls, drinks, chips and other meals on-the-run, use ATMs, pay utility bills and copy documents.

The 7-Eleven stores, now numbering more than 80,000 worldwide, are the biggest convenience-store chain in Japan.

The business started out in Japan under a franchise agreement with the U.S. 7-Eleven in 197...