NEW YORK -- With a dozen stores already up and running in Manhattan, 7-Eleven Inc. expects to open as many as 14 more this year, according to a report by Crain's New York Business.
Some of those stores will fill spaces leased last year, while others will occupy locations not yet determined. In coming months, new stores will open in neighborhoods including Midtown, Greenwich Village, Chelsea and the Upper East Side, said the report, and the company is also eyeing the Financial District.
Beginning next year, the Dallas-based retailer plans to add 20 locations--ranging in size from 1,500 square feet to 3,000 square feet--every year until 2017.
"Between the number of folks living in Manhattan, coupled with the worker population, there's significant demand and opportunity," Dan Porter, vice president of real estate at 7-Eleven, told the newspaper.
Last January, 7-Eleven launched a "major assault" on Manhattan (see Related Content below for previous CSP Daily News coverage).
And Sean Duffy, 7-Eleven's senior vice president for development, said that the outposts now open in the city are all performing well, due largely to fresh food sales of lunch items such as salads, sandwiches and hotdogs.
"It's a very [strong] market for us," he told the paper.
At this rate, the chain may provide more competition for drug store Duane Reade, which has also been ramping up its fresh food offerings to meet increasing demand.
The company is working toward converting many of its corporate-owned outposts to franchised outlets. In New York that also means working with existing bodega owners to persuade them to transform their businesses into 7-Elevens, said the report. Three such conversions will open this year, Porter told the paper.
Typically it costs between $200,000 and $1 million to open a 7-Eleven franchise, the report said.
Based in Dallas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 9,000 convenience stores in North America. Globally, there are more than 44,300 7-Eleven stores in 16 countries. During 2010, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $62.7 billion.
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