7-Eleven operator to close more supermarkets, exit apparel business to focus on convenience store biz

Seven & i Holdings Co, which operates the 7-Eleven convenience stores, will close an additional 14 Ito-Yokado supermarket stores in Japan and fully exit from the apparel business to focus on its convenience store business at home and abroad.

It will close 33 unprofitable or low-profit margin outlets in Japan by the end of February 2026. There were a total of 126 as of the end of February.

Ito-Yokado will also terminate its clothing business in the face of severe competition with specialized clothing retailers, though it will continue to sell other companies' clothing at its outlets.

The company will consolidate its back-office operations with other Seven & i group supermarket operators to reduce costs.

The Ito-Yokado unit posted a net loss for the second straight year in the year ended February 2022, as its clothing business struggled amid stiff competition with online shopping operators and specialized clothing retailers.

The supermarket operator has been under increasing pressure from ValueAct Capital, a US-based activist shareholder of the Japanese retailer, to focus on its 7-Eleven business.

ValueAct Capital insists that the steps would help to more than double its share price. In November, the retailer announced a sale of its Sogo & Seibu Co. department store for an enterprise value of about $1.8 billion to Fortress Investment Group.

To strengthen its convenience store business, Seven & i bought Speedway LLC, a US. convenience store chain and gas station network, for $21 billion in 2021.

Shares of Seven & I, which operates more than 83,000 stores globally, have climbed 16 percent this year and are now at a record since the holding company was listed in 2005. The stock rose 12 percent last year, on top of a 38 percent gain in 2021.