Seven & i Holdings, parent company of 7-Eleven, is developing initiatives to “unlock its North American convenience-store business’s potential value as well as optimal capital relations with its banking unit,” the Wall Street Journal reported today.
“The retail giant said it will accelerate expansion to new regions to seek growth in markets worldwide. … The company plans to complete its strategic restructuring this fiscal year to achieve profit growth in the coming years, it said Thursday,” wrote the WSJ.
Seven & i Holdings reported a drop in quarterly net profit, but “promised to complete restructuring and seek further growth globally” after facing buyout proposals from Alimentation Couche-Tard.
For the three months ending November 30, the company’s net profit dropped 89% from a year earlier to 11.39 billion yen, equivalent to $71.9 million, according to the WSJ.
Operating profit for its Japan-based convenience-store business “declined 8.7% to ¥55.21 billion due to lower revenue, higher rent and utility expenses. … [Yet] Seven & i Holdings kept its revenue and net profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending February. It expects revenue to grow 3.5% to ¥11.879 trillion but net profit to drop 27% to ¥163.00 billion,” wrote the Journal.
Last month, NACS Daily reported that Seven & i Holdings plans to open 500 new convenience stores in the United States and Canada through 2027.
“A company spokesman confirmed an earlier report by Kyodo News about the plan for convenience stores in North America, adding that it was part of Seven & i's strategy to grow to 100,000 stores in 30 countries and regions by 2030,” according to Reuters.
This came after Seven & i Holdings received a buyout proposal from a member of its founding Ito family in November. Vice President Junro Ito, the founder’s son, issued the proposal along with his company Ito Kogyo.
The offer is a counterbid to the revised takeover bid Seven & i Holdings received from Couche-Tard at the beginning of October, which raised its initial takeover bid from August by about 20%.