The parent company of 7-Eleven also said it would open 205 new locations during the same period
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NEED TO KNOW
- 7-Eleven’s parent company plans to close 645 North American stores by early 2027 while opening 205 new locations
- Some closing stores will convert to wholesale fuel stations as the company shifts focus to “food forward” convenience stores
- Over 400 international 7-Eleven locations will also close, including 350 in Japan and several in China and Australia
The parent company of 7-Eleven will close more than 600 of the convenience store’s locations in the coming months.
In a brief summary recently filed for its fiscal year 2025, Seven & i Holdings said it will shut down 645 stores in North America in its fiscal year 2026, which covers March 1, 2026, to Feb. 28, 2027.
However, the summary said 205 new locations are set to open during the same timeframe.
It also noted that the 645 store closures in the forecast “include the conversion to wholesale fuel stores,” meaning that some locations will stop operating as convenience stores, but will remain in business as gas stations.
The summary also said the company would close more than 400 international stores, including 350 in Japan; 18 in Australia; 30 in Beijing, China; 25 in Tianjin, China; and 10 in Chengdu, China.
Credit: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty
PEOPLE reached out to 7-Eleven for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The company previously announced it would be expanding and shifting its focus, with plans to open hundreds of new “food forward” stores.
“We plan to build 550 new stores between 2025 and 2027, with a focus on our new standard stores,” 7-Eleven President Stan Reynolds said in the company’s fiscal Q4 earnings call in April 2025.
“These food forward stores are resonating with our customers,” Reynolds added. “We'll continue learning from these stores and refine our new store standard to meet the needs of consumers, both now and in the future.”
On an episode of the Behind the Numbers podcast in November, EMarketer Senior Retail Analyst Blake Doersch weighed in on 7-Eleven’s increased focus on food and beverage offerings.
“I think I don’t really see it as much of an expansion as it is sort of a transformation of their business model,” Doersch said. “And I think it’s really because they are completely shifting their business model from just convenience store to convenience store, plus restaurant or food service outlet plus grocery.”
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