- It closed greater than 400 areas within the fourth quarter.
- The chain is placing an elevated deal with meals service.
- Extra retailer closures are coming.
Typically a sequence has to make main cuts in an effort to change path. Which may imply giving up on sure markets, or making huge shifts in how the enterprise operates.
Within the comfort retailer area, main gamers together with Wawa, Circle Okay, and Casey’s Normal Retailer have wager huge on meals as a draw. This is not simply sizzling canines rolling on heaters or pizza of questionable high quality. It is actual meals meant as an alternative choice to stopping for quick meals.
Comfort shops have been shedding prospects to fast-food and fast service eating places, in keeping with the latest Comfort Voices research from NACS.
- The 2024 research discovered that 28.7% of c-store buyers meant to go to a QSR (fast service restaurant — for instance, a fast-food chain) inside half-hour of their comfort go to.
- The determine stood at 27.5% in 2023.
- Jayme Gough, director of analysis and improvement at NACS, stated the outcomes confirmed the highest two causes for this leakage had been primarily as a consequence of a perceived lack of selection and choices for buyers.
Perceived high quality or worth had been much less essential components.
“A limited c-store menu was the most frequently cited reason why consumers said they would go to a QSR. 37.9% of those surveyed said they wanted to purchase a food item that the c-store didn’t offer. A close second, 27.3%, said that while they purchased food at the convenience store, they wanted additional food options that weren’t available,” in keeping with the research.
Knowledge like that’s the reason 7-Eleven has opted to develop and enhance its meals choices. It has additionally chosen to shut lots of of areas that do not match its evolving enterprise mannequin.
7-Eleven closing lots of of shops
7-Eleven father or mother firm Seven & i Holdings not too long ago reported on the primary half of its fiscal yr. In that report, it shared its view of the American market.
“The North American economy showed signs of slowing down, with personal consumption also indicating a tendency to curb spending, particularly among low-income households, due to growing concerns about rising prices,” it shared.
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To deal with that, the corporate plans to speed up its world development and transformation plan.
“7-Eleven, Inc. in North America is working on ‘Distinctive Fresh Food Offering,’ ‘Store Network Enhancement,’ ‘Unleashing 7NOW’s full potential,’ and ‘OSG&A Control across the Value Chain’ as priority measures, amid growing concerns about rising prices and a growing desire among low-income earners to save on food and daily necessities,” it defined within the submitting.
The corporate was particular in sharing its food-based plans.
7-Eleven is strengthening its assist for present areas and is changing it right into a ‘comfort retailer with deal with meals’ tailor-made to the traits of every market.
Seven & i Holdings half-year report
7-Eleven plans to up its meals recreation to raised compete with fast service and fast-food eating places.
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7-Eleven retailer closures timeline (2024–2025)
- October 2024: 7-Eleven introduced plans to shut 444 underperforming shops throughout North America.
The choice was attributed to declining cigarette gross sales, lowered buyer visitors, and inflationary pressures.This transfer represented roughly 3% of the corporate’s complete shops within the area.
- June 2024: Earlier within the yr, 7-Eleven closed 272 areas within the U.S., marking a big enhance from 184 closures in 2023.
- September 2025: 7-Eleven introduced plans to shut an extra 148 U.S. areas by the tip of the yr, bringing the full variety of closures since 2024 to over 500 shops.
- October 2025: 7-Eleven reported a internet discount of 125 shops throughout the summer season of 2025, as a part of its ongoing technique to shut underperforming areas and deal with bigger, food-forward shops.
7-Eleven pushes into meals
7-Eleven has embraced the developments and has been bettering the meals at its comfort shops.
“Food recently overtook cigarettes as the largest category at 7-Eleven Inc.,” CEO Joe DePinto advised Comfort.org. The corporate has been investing closely in its meals and beverage modernization program to capitalize on this shift.
Shifting the main focus to meals requires extra than simply including new gadgets.
“Growing our proprietary products is an important part of our future. This platform offers our customers a wider assortment of hot food and specialty beverages,” DePinto advised In the present day.com, including that the shops’ meals and beverage updates will embody bake-in-store gadgets, self-serve stations, curler grills, grab-and-go choices, and drinks like espresso, cappuccino, iced espresso and lattes.
GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders thinks that the lots of of retailer closures are only a pruning and a cleanup for the chain.
“The locations being closed have likely suffered from a disproportionate decline in foot traffic and customers as consumers battle with rising food prices and cut back on the amount they buy. In some areas, increased competition from online and value stores will also have taken their toll as consumers seek out lower prices,” KCCL reported.
The closures have harm how some buyer understand the 7-Eleven model, in keeping with knowledge from YouGov.
“BrandIndex tracks 16 metrics including Recommendation, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, and Impression for brands daily. Since the announcement on October 10, 2024, consumer trust and brand perception have visibly eroded. For instance, 7-Eleven’s Recommendation score was at 1.6 at the start of the observation period but sharply fell into negative territory, reaching -5.7 by November 6 – a decline of 7.3 points,” it shared.
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