Slurpee Runs Dry: Final Checkout Coming For Hundreds Of North American 7-Eleven Stores

CHICAGO — Leaders of the multinational convenience store chain 7-Eleven have announced plans to shutter hundreds of locations across North America, leaving some of its Illinois stores potentially headed for the corporate chopping block.

7-Eleven, owned by Japan-based Seven & i Holdings, operates more than 300 stores in Illinois, including more than 100 in Chicago.

Company officials revealed plans to close 444 stores across the United States, Canada and Mexico last week during an earnings presentation.

In North America overall, the company saw a 7.3 percent drop in traffic for August. Officials cited reduced store traffic, inflationary pressures and shrinking demand for tobacco, leading them to downgrade the company's U.S. profit outlook for the year.

According to company officials, 62 percent of consumers live paycheck-to-paycheck, online retail sales have risen from 10 percent of overall retail sales to 16 percent since prior to the pandemic and a reduction in government-provided food assistance has led to average reductions of nearly $100 per participant.

Company representatives did not immediately respond to inquiries as to how many Illinois stores would be affected by the closures.

Company officials expect to make $30 million this year through store closures and think it will help them make $110 million more each year going forward.

The company is also engaging in a $750 million sale-leaseback deal involving an as-yet unspecified number of its North American properties.

Such a transaction would allow 7-Eleven to sell property it owns, then lease it back from the buyer, providing $520 million in profit to reinvest in more profitable areas or to reduce debts, while continuing to maintain store operations there.

7-Eleven was founded in 1927 in Dallas, Texas, originally as Tote'm Stores, and became known for pioneering 24-hour convenience stores starting in the 1960s.

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The recently announced store closures and lease buyback plans come as 7-Eleven faces a takeover bid by Alimentation Couche-Tard, the parent company of rival convenience store chain Circle K. Couche-Tard recently increased its offer to $47.2 billion, up from an earlier bid.

If the deal goes through and wins regulatory approval, the merger would bring together two of the largest convenience store chains in the country.

In a statement to Restaurant Business, company officials said they "continuously review and optimize" their holdings to meet consumer demands as part of their long term growth strategy.

"As part of this, we made the decision to optimize a number of non-core assets that do not fit into our growth strategy," they said. "At the same time, we continue to open stores in areas where customers are looking for more convenience.