7-Eleven is shuttering underperforming 444 convenience stores in North America, reports C-Store Dive. Parent company Seven & i Holdings (Tokyo) revealed those plans in its quarterly earnings presentation with analysts.
The world’s largest c-store retailer also revealed that it had agreed last month to offload an undisclosed number of properties in North America via sale-leaseback for a profit of $520 million. That deal is expected to close in February 2025.
Both moves coincide with Seven & i announcing it has slashed its net income forecast for its fiscal year 2024, as well as created a spinoff company for its supermarkets, specialty stores and other businesses (SST) amid investor pressure to prioritize its c-store arm, CSD noted.
When asked to confirm where the 444 stores it’s closing are located, as well as how many stores it’s agreed to sell and then lease for the $520 million profit, a 7-Eleven spokesperson only pointed to both moves being part of the company’s long-term growth strategy, C-Store Dive reports.
“As part of this, we made the decision to optimize a number of non-core assets that do not fit into our growth strategy,” the spokesperson said. “At the same time, we continue to open stores in areas where customers are looking for more convenience.”
Seven & i’s latest strategic moves come as it resists a takeover attempt by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent company of Circle K convenience stores. After rejecting the $39 billion bid in early September, Seven & i announced earlier this week that it received a revised offer from Couche-Tard, which Bloomberg reported could be as high as $47 billion.
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7-Eleven has 84,000 stores in 19 countries worldwide, including about 9400 in the U.S., 1800 in Mexico and 600-plus in Canada.