By Bill Pan
Contributing Writer
Convenience store giant 7-Eleven is set to close hundreds of locations across North America during its current fiscal year.
In its fourth-quarter earnings report released on April 9, Seven & i Holdings, 7-Eleven’s Japanese parent company, said it expects to close 645 stores during fiscal year 2026, which runs from March 1, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2027.
Not all of the 645 locations will be closing entirely, as the report indicates some are slated for “conversion to wholesale fuel stores.” It did not specify the exact locations slated for closure or conversion to only gas stations.
The chain has 11 locations in the Santa Clarita Valley.
During the same fiscal year, the company plans to open 205 locations in North America, which would result in a net reduction of 440 stores. Seven & i said it is focusing on larger-format, food-forward stores with expanded food and beverage offerings as part of its broader transformation strategy.
The changes would have a limited effect on the company’s overall store count. 7-Eleven has more than 13,000 locations across the United States and Canada, according to the company’s website, and operates in 30 U.S. states.
The decision comes as Seven & i works toward spinning off and eventually taking its North American convenience-store business public. The Japanese conglomerate had previously targeted the second half of fiscal 2026 for the IPO, but it now says the offering will take place in fiscal 2027 “at the earliest.”
While Seven & i did not explain why it’s delaying the IPO, it says in a separate April 9 presentation that “the economic outlook remains uncertain” across all markets, and that “geopolitical risks may persist and evolve.”
In a presentation, Seven & i said it continued to see such impacts in North America. The company said, as it delays the IPO, it wants to prioritize customers and show “tangible results” from its ongoing business overhaul before proceeding with the listing. That transformation has included a push toward larger stores with stronger food service offerings and more private-label products.
In a March 2025 company Q&A, Seven & i said it chose the IPO route because it believed the intrinsic value of its North American convenience-store business was not being reflected in its share price.
If completed, the IPO would make 7-Eleven a standalone public company while leaving Seven & i as the majority shareholder, allowing both sides to keep benefiting from operational ties while giving the North American unit more control over its finances and deal-making strategy.
“[7-Eleven] has very strong businesses, and we believe that the market value of [7-Eleven] will be reflected in the share price of [Seven & i] through the IPO,” company executives said at that time.
