By Anton Bridge
TOKYO, Oct 9 (Reuters) – 7-Eleven Inc, the North American arm of 7-Eleven convenience stores and gas stations, is considering moving parts of its supply chain in-house in a bid to cut costs as stubborn inflation dampens US consumer demand, its chief executive said on Friday.
The company, owned by Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, has seen sluggish growth as consumers cut spending amid rising inflation.
In April, Seven & i pushed back plans to list the North American business to the financial year starting April 2027 or later, rather than in the second half of 2026, citing market uncertainty.
7-Eleven Inc’s new CEO Mauricio Leyva said the company is exploring more cost-cutting measures – even as high fuel prices have lifted revenue – as costs increase across its supply chain and as inflation and fuel costs are expected to rise further over the mid- to long-term.
“Sentiment right now is that disposable income is being hit across the board,” Leyva, who became CEO in August, said in an interview with media.
7-Eleven Inc has introduced better value products to attract customers but is reshaping its sourcing and distribution network to cut costs further, Leyva said.
“To a certain extent we’ve outsourced too much.” Seven & i’s CEO Stephen Dacus said in the same interview. “It’s probably time to develop some more in-house capabilities,” Dacus said.
Longer-term investments are principally self-funded, Leyva said.
An IPO of 7-Eleven Inc in the future would rely on a change in the macro environment, Dacus said, adding that the business needed more time to convince investors its turnaround is working.
“The macro environment for IPOs is all AI all the time. As far as retail and consumer products IPOs go, I think a lot of the oxygen has been sucked out by AI,” Dacus said.
(Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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