7-Eleven must outpace rising competition and shifting consumer demands to retain its industry lead in convenience retail, parent company Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., Tokyo, said during an investor presentation Thursday.
The company said consumer behavior is shifting and is being driven by demand for value, fresh food and digital convenience. Competitive intensity is accelerating, the company said.
“What we need to do is clear, we are operating in an environment of rapid structural change,” Seven & i President and CEO Stephen Hayes Dacus said.
Dacus said that for the company to remain at the forefront of change, “we will accelerate our transformation, doubling down on our strengths and sharpening what differentiates us—in doing so we will be our customer’s first choice for convenience.”
During the presentation, interim 7 -Eleven co-CEO Stan Reynolds, president, echoed these sentiments. Reynolds said that 7-Eleven has led this industry for decades but sustaining that leadership requires “constant” reinvention.
“We have entered a decisive inflection point in the business,” he said. “Our portfolio is being simplified, our strategic focus being sharpened and accountability across the organization is clearer than it has ever been.”
Reynolds said the actions 7-Eleven is taking are deliberate and forward looking.
These actions are “designed to strengthen the business and position 7-Eleven for sustainable growth and improve returns," Reynolds said.
Core priorities
Reynolds outlined 7-Eleven’s “North Star 2030” plan that centers on five core priorities, beginning with a new modern store network.
He said the company will modernize its store network through remodels, new standard formats and franchising.
“Without modernized stores our product and experience strategies cannot reach their full potential,” he said.
Seven & i plans to remodel at least 7,000 convenience stores in North America by 2030 as part of a broader transformation of its 7-Eleven business. In addition to the remodels, 7-Eleven plans to open roughly 1,300 additional “New Standard” stores by 2030.
In its fiscal 2025 earnings documents reported April 9, the company said that in fiscal 2026 it expects to close 645 locations in North America, with some closures tied to conversions into wholesale fuel stores, which are not included in the company’s store count.
The other four priorities Reynolds listed in the presentation include: leading product assortment, including fresh food and private brands; best customer experience to increase loyalty and frequency; and fuel vertical integration and cost leadership, to fund growth and improve returns over time.
“These five priorities give us a clear line of sight on to how we create value through 2030,” he said.
Franchise acceleration
Turning to franchising, 7-Eleven co-CEO and COO Doug Rosencrans said between 2025 and 2030, the company plans to convert 2,600 corporate stores to its franchise models with approximately 390 to be converted in 2026.
“The rationale is straightforward,” Rosencrans said, adding that franchising delivers three things that matter to investors: stronger unit economics, execution and a leaner operating model.
A strong franchisee system will enable 7-Eleven to scale with lower capital intensity, Rosencrans said.
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2026 Top 40 update to the 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Watch for the full 2026 Top 202 ranking in June.
7-Eleven—known for its Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp brands—operates, franchises or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the United States and Canada. In addition to 7-Eleven, the company operates and franchises Speedway and Stripes c-stores and the Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits restaurant brands.
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