Home GRASP GRASP/Japan 7-Eleven's parent slurps up Sunoco stations for $3.3 billion

7-Eleven's parent slurps up Sunoco stations for $3.3 billion

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Japanese company Seven & i Holdings wants to expand its convenience store presence in North America
7-Eleven’s corporate parent, the Japanese company Seven & i Holdings, is gulping down a big U. S expansion.
Seven & i Holdings on Thursday said it would buy convenience stores and gas stations from Texas-based Sunoco for about $3.3 billion, as the Japanese retailer closes in on its goal to reach 10,000 North American outlets. The Sunoco stores are located in 18 states, including Florida and Texas as well as states in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions. 
The operator of the 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores has been aggressively opening stores in Japan as well as the United States, where it has been acquiring stores from local retailers. Its latest purchase comes as operators of traditional big-box retailers — including some of Seven & i’s businesses — have been suffering weak sales as changing tastes and modest wage growth have prompted shoppers to defect to cheaper speciality chains and online outlets.
“The U. S. convenience store market has growth momentum. We see opportunities there,” Seven & i President Ryuichi Isaka said at an earnings briefing after announcing the Sunoco deal.
Convenience store operators have benefitted from lower fuel prices, which is helping to bring more customers into their stores, the National Association of Convenience Stores said earlier this year. A survey of its members found most expect sales to rise in 2017.

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