7-Eleven Expanding

Gas stations & convenience stores (AM/PM, 7-Eleven, etc.)
Alpha8472
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7-Eleven Expanding

Post by Alpha8472 »

I have noticed 7-Eleven being added to more gas stations in the San Francisco Bay Area. There was a new one in Pleasanton across the street from the Flagship Lucky Supermarket. Now a Shell Gas Station in San Leandro with a Burger King inside is converting its convenience store to a 7-Eleven.

The store is proudly advertising that it is hiring new employees for 7-Eleven. It previously only had 1 employee when it was a Shell convenience store.

The convenience store has moved to a portable trailer during construction. It has bars on the windows and looks like it was designed for a rough neighborhood.

I don't know why 7-Eleven is building so many new stores so close to existing stores. There is another 7-Eleven just on the other side of the freeway overpass. It seems like overkill.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by jamcool »

Are they all under the same ownership?
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by Alpha8472 »

I am pretty sure they are separately run. 7-Eleven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area seem to have a lot of individual owners. They get their own family members to run the store. A few might hire some non-family employees, but it seems like many have owners that work in the store. Many 7-Eleven stores are close together only a few blocks away.

They all seem so disorganized. Some are decent and others are dirty and have empty shelves. There are few competitors such as Circle K. Most of the completion are the little unbranded convenience stores at various gas stations.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by buckguy »

Are they existing stores or entirely ne? I think 7-11 is using both a corporate and franchise model more often than in the past.

If they're like the one you described, then perhaps 7-11 has bought a small chain. They bought the Sunoco stores along several turnpikes in Ohio and the East and slowly converted them to 7-11s. Those stores have sometimes awkward locations within travel plazas, so it's taken them awhile to figure out how to promote traffic and merchandise them. They've actually done a pretty good job---I'm more likely to find something I want than under their old owners, but they are merchandised differently from their typical store--clearly targeting travelers, with more "stuff you probably forgot" and the drinks are as expensive as in the fast food places in the same plaza.

They do open stores near existing ones---after years of opening no new stores in DC and the inner suburbs, they've steadily opened new ones over the last 10 years, some near existing locations. They usually seem to be family operations---Middle Eastern people in the city and some suburban areas. Thai families in places like Rockville. I would imagine that the new operations are run by extended family of existing ones. They've also had some sudden closures--I would imagine that it's been landlord issues given the prime locations.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by jamcool »

Yet 7-11 hasn’t done much with conversion of Speedway, other than bringing in Slurpees (in some stores) and some 7 Select items
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by Alpha8472 »

Most of the 7-Eleven stores opening up are conversions of old convenience stores.

I did see another 7-Eleven under construction in San Leandro and that one is a new one being built from the ground up.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by storewanderer »

This is a program 7-Eleven has been talking about for many years. Every so often, they add more locations. Then that seems to be the end of it.

Basically they just convert independent c-stores over to 7-Eleven Stores. Typically these independent c-stores will just order products from 7-Eleven's supply chain and get their drink/food equipment. They often will not use the 7-Eleven cash register etc., but sometimes will.

This is sometimes an improvement from what the independent c-store offered previously.

Circle K is the brand who has done a lot more of this type of thing out in CA. But recently they've lost a couple pretty large operators losing the Anredtti stations in S. OR and losing Edward Marszel Enterprises stations around Sacramento.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by BillyGr »

jamcool wrote: December 3rd, 2022, 9:13 am Yet 7-11 hasn’t done much with conversion of Speedway, other than bringing in Slurpees (in some stores) and some 7 Select items
And coffee (or at least the machines that make it one cup at a time, which were not in existence previously in these stores), even if the cups are still Speedway labelled.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: December 5th, 2022, 11:47 am
jamcool wrote: December 3rd, 2022, 9:13 am Yet 7-11 hasn’t done much with conversion of Speedway, other than bringing in Slurpees (in some stores) and some 7 Select items
And coffee (or at least the machines that make it one cup at a time, which were not in existence previously in these stores), even if the cups are still Speedway labelled.
Speedway installed those single cup/grind on demand coffee machines out in CA before the merger took place. The initiative was in progress at the time of the merger.
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Re: 7-Eleven Expanding

Post by Brian Lutz »

7-Eleven seems to have some weird aversion to corporate owned stores. Last year in Everett they took a former Mobil station on Everett Mall Way that had been sitting for quite a while,. built out a 7-eleven store inside, and then left it sitting idle for several months with "franchise this 7-Eleven" signs outside, which presumably meant that they wanted a 7-Eleven there, they just didn't want to actually operate a 7-Eleven there.

Also in Sandy UT there's a 7-Eleven location on State Street where all the lights and signs are on, but the windows are papered over and there's a sign on the door indicating that the location is closed until further notice as of some time in November. My guess is that they are looking for a new franchisee to run the store, and have just closed it in the meantime. I haven't been impressed with any of the 7-Elevens around here though, especially when there's usually much nicer and better stocked Maverik stores nearby.

As for the single cup grind coffee machines, I have started to see those at quite a few places. While I was out in the Carolinas this past weekend I saw a QuikTrip that appeared to have replaced all of their drip coffee pots with these machines. I know Maverik is using these as well.
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