TOKYO -- With 7-Eleven Inc. approaching 10,000 convenience stores in the United States, its parent company, Japan’s Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., is increasingly banking on the North American division for growth as its Japanese business sees sales slow, according to a Reuters report.
Seven & i said April 5 that its 2017 operating profit rose 7% to reach a record high $3.66 billion. It's anticipating a 6% increase in 2018.
7-Eleven Inc., meanwhile, saw total store sales rise 14% to nearly $29 billion during 2017, according to the parent company's financial report. With 7-Eleven Inc.'s growth in the United States, including its recent acquisition of more than 1,000 c-stores from Sunoco LP, Seven & i is forecasting a 22% increase in U.S. store sales this year. The Sunoco acquisition gives the U.S. business unit a total of about 9,700 c-stores.
In Japan, the Seven-Eleven Japan business unit saw total store sales grow 3.6% in the 2018 fiscal year, which ended Feb. 28, resulting in flat operating income. 7-Eleven Inc. operating income grew nearly 15% during 2017.
“We expect profitability to improve for our overseas segment as we open new stores in our dominant areas, remodel our current shops and close unprofitable locations,” Tokyo-based Seven & i said in a statement cited by Bloomberg.
It also said it would more than double capital expenditures in this year to $7.2 billion, allocating about $4.5 billion to the overseas convenience-store business.
Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. ranked No. 1 in CSP's2017 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States.
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