Seven & i Holdings, the Japan-based owner of 7-Eleven, has announced that it plans to close hundreds of stores in North America over the next year.
The store closures are an attempt to reduce costs and increase profitability for the chain of convenience stores ahead of a U.S. initial public offering for its North American unit, which was recently delayed. Here’s what you need to know.
645 store closures in North America
Tucked away in Seven & i Holdings’ brief summary for its fiscal year 2025 last week was news that the company plans to close more than 1,000 locations in its fiscal year 2026, which runs from March 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027.
According ot the document, Seven & i Holdings plans to shutter 645 locations in North America.
During the same period, 205 new 7-Eleven locations are set to open, meaning a net loss of 440 of the beloved convenience stores is expected.
For context, 645 closures represent about a 5% reduction in the company’s current footprint of 12,272 North American locations.
However, it should be noted that Seven & i Holdings says some of the closing locations won’t be shuttered entirely.
Many 7-Eleven locations in North America sell both gas at the pump and food inside the convenience store. Locations that don’t have an operating convenience store and only sell gas are known as wholesale fuel stores.
Seven & i Holdings says that the “645 store closures in the full-year FY2026 forecast include the conversion to wholesale fuel stores.”
This means some locations will close their convenience store segment, but continue to operate as gas stations. However, the locations that undergo a transition to wholesale fuel stores only will no longer count as part of the chain’s total footprint, hence a wholesale fuel stores conversion counts as a closure.
Which 7-Eleven locations are closing?
It’s unknown which of the company’s 12,272 North American locations are closing. Fast Company has reached out to Seven & i Holdings for comment.
However, the 645 North American locations aren’t the only 7-Eleven locations that Seven & i Holdings is shuttering over the next year. The company says it will close additional stores internationally, including:
- 350 in Japan
- 18 in Australia
- 30 in Beijing, China
- 25 in Tianjin, China
- 10 in Chengdu, China
How has 7-Eleven’s delayed IPO impacted closures?
While Seven & i Holdings is a publicly traded company in Japan, the 7-Eleven owner has long intended to list its North American operations separately on a U.S. stock exchange. This initial public offering for 7-Eleven was expected to take place this year, but has now been delayed until at least 2027.
As the Financial Times reported last week, Seven & i Holdings has announced that the U.S. IPO would be delayed until the company’s 2027 financial year “at the earliest.” That financial year runs from March 1, 2027, until the end of February 2028.
The delayed IPO is being driven by the company’s desire to turn around profits at its North American locations ahead of the listing. The company’s North American locations have been hit by declining sales as cash-strapped consumers cut back on spending.
The ongoing U.S. war with Iran is also not helping the company’s bottom line, as it is raising fuel prices, thereby eating into profits.
Companies also tend to cut costs wherever they can before an IPO to help present a better bottom line to potential investors. So the upcoming IPO is also likely having an impact on Seven & i Holdings’ decision to close hundreds of North American locations.
When will 7-Eleven close its stores?
That is unknown. But it is unlikely that the 645 stores marked for closure will all close at once. Instead, locations will likely close individually throughout Seven & i Holdings’s 2026 fiscal year.
That fiscal year runs until February 28, 2027, so expect the 645 North American locations to be closed by that date.