The changes will expand the New England presence of a chain that already operates about 250 stores in the region, said the report.
"We believe we're getting stronger and stronger, and this is going to help us with that market share," Paul C. Donohoe, 7-Eleven operations transition manager for New England, told [image-nocss] the newspaper.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven acquired White Hen Pantry Inc., Lombard, Ill., in 2006, and it was the company's biggest acquisition in 20 years. White Hen operated and franchised more than 200 stores in the Chicago area and licensed others in New England where a number of regional competitors operate, including Honey Farms Inc., Worcester, Mass.
Franchisees own nearly all the White Hen Pantry stores in New England, the report said. At first, 7-Eleven let the stores operate without changing their names. Now the company is planning to convert all 55 Massachusetts White Hen Pantry stores to 7-Eleven formats by the end of the year, it added.
It is a significant process that takes about two weeks at each store and involves replacing floors, cases and counters. 7-Eleven is paying for the renovations and waiving the franchising fees, although store owners are required to invest in inventory, the report said.
The first New England White Hen Pantry store to make the change, located in Worcester, will mark its conversion with a celebration and promotionsincluding 7-cent Slurpee beverages and 11-cent hot dogsaimed at highlighting 7-Eleven's signature products, said the report.
Regular White Hen Pantry customers can expect to see a few changes, the Telegram & Gazette said. Gone are the earth tones and deli counter that were the signature of the chain. In are white floor tiles, a coffee bar, hot pizza and chicken wings, taquitos and hot dogs on a roller grill and other foods prepared and distributed from 7-Eleven's commissary in Brockton, Mass., and bakery in Westerly, R.I.
Amr Mohammad, who has owned the store for 16 years, said that under 7-Eleven, his store is stocking a broader variety of products, including nonfood items. Although the product mix has changed, he said, he has been pleased to see his sales have remained steady. "We've had a lot of compliments from customers," he told the paper. "We are doing about 95% to 100% of the sales we used to do. The numbers tell you how the reaction is, and the numbers are where they used to be."7-Eleven, Dallas, operates, franchises or licenses approximately 8,200 stores in North America. Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 38,000 stores in 16 countries. During 2009, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $58.9 billion.
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