7-Eleven may have pioneered the convenience store concept in the U.S., but its reputation at home has suffered, forcing major changes across its more than 12,000 stores across the country.
Nearly 70% of 7-Eleven’s parent company Seven & i’s total sales come from North America, with the United States accounting for the majority. Still, weak business results have forced the Japan-based company to reconsider its U.S. stores.
“Big question marks remain on the U.S. side,” said Lorraine Tan, director of Asia equity research at Morningstar. “On the revenue side, the company is making a big contribution. But on the profit side, it’s not.”
For the full fiscal year 2024, Seven & i’s net profit in North America will decline by approximately 17%, and 444 unprofitable stores will be closed. In the first quarter of 2025, same-store sales and year-over-year foot traffic were both down.
“They were just focused on expansion,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail and consumer at data analytics firm GlobalData. “What doesn’t always happen is that they don’t evolve their store concepts and formats as consumer needs change, and I think 7-Eleven has fallen into that trap.”
Seven & i changed its leadership to new CEO Stephen Dacus in March 2025. Dacus announced in August that the company needed urgent change and that “long-term success could create a certain sense of complacency in the business.”
“This is an opportunity to redefine and reinvent ourselves,” Dacus said.
A key part of this plan is to revamp our food operations in North America. That includes adding healthier options to ready-to-eat meals and bringing fan favorites like the egg salad sandwich sold in its Japanese stores to the U.S. market.
The company is also adding more of its own restaurants to its existing locations, including Laredo Taco Company and Southern-style chicken chain Ray’s the Roost, inherited from the Stripes acquisition. The company plans to open 1,300 new large-scale stores specializing in food by 2030.
The company said it has already seen a 45% increase in sales per store in stores it has renovated.
Restaurants can increase foot traffic to 7-Eleven stores, but it comes at an additional cost.
“There are a lot of different opinions on the restaurant side,” Mr Tan said.
These updates were made in preparation for a possible 2026 IPO of 7-Eleven’s North American convenience store business. Seven & i plans to spin off the business, but will remain a major shareholder.
It is also dealing with the fallout from a failed $47 billion takeover bid by rival and No. 2 Alimentation Couche-Tard.
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