7-Eleven to close over 400 stores in North America

NPR | By Emma Bowman

Published October 12, 2024 at 4:59 PM EDT

People walk past a 7-Eleven convenience store in New York City on Wednesday. The company plans to shut down 444 stores across North America to recoup costs lost to inflation, a drop in store traffic and declining cigarette sales.

Several hundred 7-Eleven stores across North America are closing, the convenience store chain announced.

The company’s CEO reported in an earnings call on Thursday held by Tokyo-based parent company Seven & I Holdings that it’s shuttering 444 “underperforming” locations, citing inflation pressures, slowed traffic, a decline in cigarette sales and a shift in consumer appetites.

The closures amount to 3% of the chain's total of more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Seven & I saw a 7.3% decline in traffic in August, following months of declines, and noted that low-income consumers are taking a “more prudent approach to consumption” due to inflation, high interest rates and what it called a “deteriorating” job climate.

Cigarette sales are down 26% since 2019 — an 80-year low — according to the company, as customers seek alternative nicotine products such as Zyn.

Meanwhile, 7-Eleven said it plans to expand its fresh food and specialty beverage options, as people facing rising inflation seek affordable meal options.

“Affordable, high quality foods are becoming more important,” Joe DePinto, the CEO and president of 7-Eleven, said in the earnings call.

Competitors known for having loyal fans of their food offerings have earned higher marks from consumers. Out of all U.S. convenience stores, East Coast-based chains Wawa and Sheetz ranked high in customer satisfaction, according to a recent survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, while 7-Eleven scored below the industry average.

7-Eleven said it's shifting focus to invest in its higher-demand locations.

"Aligned with our long-term growth strategy, we continuously review and optimize our portfolio to deliver convenience where, when and how customers need it,” 7-Eleven said in a statement shared with NPR. “At the same time, we continue to open stores in areas where customers are looking for more convenience."

The news of the closures come amid a bid from Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard, owner of Circle-K, to buy the 7-Eleven parent company. Such a takeover would make Couche-Tard the biggest convenience store company in the world.