7-Eleven

7‑Eleven is a global convenience retailer that operates, franchises, and licenses small-format stores offering everyday essentials, fresh food, beverages, and fuel. The company is headquartered in Irving, Texas, and its locations serve quick, high-frequency trips for customers throughout the day and night.

The business began in 1927 when the Southland Ice Company in Dallas started selling basic groceries from an ice dock, using its cold storage and longer hours to meet neighborhood needs. In 1946 the stores were renamed 7‑Eleven to reflect extended hours of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., which helped define what modern convenience retail would look like. Over time, many stores shifted to around-the-clock operation, reinforcing the brand’s association with accessible, always-open retail.

A key turning point came as the original Southland business evolved into a focused convenience operator and ultimately became part of Japan-based Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., which is now the parent company. Under this ownership, 7‑Eleven has scaled through a mix of new store development and acquisitions. One of the most significant recent milestones was the 2021 acquisition of Speedway in the United States, which meaningfully expanded its combined convenience and fuel footprint, particularly along major highway routes and in auto-oriented suburban markets.

As of March 2024, Seven & i reported roughly 85,000 convenience stores globally under its group, including 7‑Eleven branded stores and affiliates across the United States, Canada, Japan, and a wide range of international markets in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. In the United States and Canada, 7‑Eleven and its related banners, including Speedway and Stripes, operate and franchise one of the largest convenience networks in North America. The stores occupy a broad mix of locations, from dense urban street corners and neighborhood sites to suburban intersections and highway-adjacent fuel locations.

Over the past five years, the brand has moved from being primarily a traditional convenience store operator to a more diversified, omnichannel platform. The company has invested in delivery, mobile ordering, loyalty programs, and digital media, while at the same time upgrading existing stores and repositioning acquired fuel assets into updated convenience formats. Newer locations and remodels lean more heavily into fresh food, proprietary beverages, private-label offerings, and faster grab-and-go options, supported by more modern exteriors, improved lighting, and better traffic flow on site.

In North America today, 7‑Eleven is in an expansion and consolidation phase. The company is integrating the Speedway network while selectively growing the 7‑Eleven and Stripes banners through new ground-up builds, pad deals, and conversions of existing real estate. Corporate communications from Seven & i highlight continued investment in high-return convenience and fuel locations, with a particular emphasis on growth regions across the U.S. Sun Belt, Texas and the Southwest, key Midwest metros, and infill opportunities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The organization maintains an active real estate and development team that looks for new sites, relocations, and acquisitions to strengthen trade area coverage and fill gaps in existing markets.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, 7‑Eleven represents a large, well-known tenant with multiple store formats that can work in urban, suburban, and highway settings. The combination of franchised and corporate locations, the integration of fuel at many sites, and ongoing consolidation of regional convenience banners all contribute to steady demand for visible corners, pad sites, and repositioned properties in both mature and fast-growing markets. The company’s scale, brand recognition, and sustained development pipeline make it a consistent presence in convenience-anchored and traffic-driven real estate.