DALLAS -- 7-Eleven Inc. is launching a "major assault" on Manhattan, hoping to grow to as many as 20 outposts by the end of 2012 and 100 in the next five years, according to Crain's New York Business. It plans to accomplish this expansion by gobbling up good locations courtesy of the recession, added the report.
As a beachhead, the Dallas-based convenience store giant recently opened two stores in Murray Hill and has signed leases for another two locations elsewhere in the borough, the report said.
"We are actively looking," 7-Eleven spokesperson Margaret [image-nocss] Chabris told the newspaper, noting that New York is a key growth market.
The company, which has several additional leases out for negotiation in Manhattan, is also moving onto college campuses and airports. It opened its first airport store at Newark Liberty International Airport last year, the paper said.
By the end of 2012, 7-Eleven plans to have between 15 and 20 Manhattan locations, according to real estate sources cited by Crain's. In the next five years, the company aims to operate 100 stores there.
"There are more attractive locations available now than there were in the past, and this is due to the recession," Chabris said. "A lot of small businesses are having a tough time growing, or some of them aren't able to renew leases."
7-Eleven, which is a subsidiary of the Japan-based Seven & i Holdings Co., currently has only 10 Manhattan locations, including two that opened in December, said the report. It recently signed leases for 2,600 square feet at 1412 First Ave. and 2,000 square feet at 333 E. 23rd St. Both deals carried asking rents near $125 a square foot, Ariel Schuster, the Robert K. Futterman & Associates broker who represented 7-Eleven, told the paper.
"The key to their expansion is they're building their brand," Schuster added. "Manhattanites didn't really know about them yet, but around the country, like on Long Island, 7-Eleven is known." He said that the brand has a strong balance sheet and good credit, so landlords are more willing to take 7-Eleven on as a tenant.
So far, Crain's said, the company has replaced old delis and video stores, and even a former Starbucks.
7-Eleven--home of the "Big Bite" foods and "Big Gulp" beverages--operates, franchises or licenses more than 8,300 7-Eleven stores in North America. Globally, it operates, franchises or licenses approximately 39,500 stores in 16 countries. During 2009, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of $58.9 billion.
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