Whether you’re rolling into the gas station on fumes, craving a midnight snack you’ll regret tomorrow, or chasing that sweet brain freeze from a Slurpee, the glowing 7-Eleven sign is basically the Bat-Signal for the snack-deprived. It’s the ultimate pit stop for all those random, late-night buys you didn’t even know you needed until 3 a.m. 

Despite being the largest convenience store chain in the U.S., the home of the “Big Gulp” is pulling the plug on 444 locations. So, what’s behind the big cut? It’s a perfect storm of growing competition, sinking cigarette sales, and a looming potential takeover by Circle K’s parent company, Alimentation Couche-Tard (that was a mouth full). In other words, 7-Eleven’s caught between a hot dog roller grill and a hard place.

According to their parent company, Seven & I Holdings, these closures are part of a grand strategy to “optimize” their portfolio (basically, cutting off the dead weight). With foot traffic down 7.3% in August alone and net profit slouching 35% in the last six months, it’s clear the chain’s been feeling the pinch. 

And let’s not forget cigarettes (once the bread and butter of convenience stores) are down 26% in sales since 2019. That’s a huge hit for a company that used to rely on people swinging by for a quick smoke and soda.

But it’s not just 7-Eleven’s own struggles that are causing problems. Competitors like Buc-ee’s, WaWa, and Sheetz are killing it when it comes to customer satisfaction, offering better food and a way more enjoyable overall experience. 

And then there’s the elephant in the room—Couche-Tard, the parent company of Circle K, has been eyeing 7-Eleven for a while now. Recently, they sweetened the pot, upping their buyout bid to $47.2 billion. The timing of these closures is definitely interesting, as it looks like Seven & I Holdings is doing everything they can to trim the fat and strengthen their core business to fend off the takeover.

In the meantime, they’re pushing hard to improve their food game. Food is now their top-selling category, and they’re hoping that investing more in it will bring customers back through the door. But with Buc-ee’s serving up legit BBQ and WaWa slinging hoagies that people swear by, 7-Eleven’s got some serious catching up to do.

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Seven and I Holdings stock is up 12% so far this year.