It always seems like the news arrives in Oklahoma just a little slower than the rest of the country. It may be a few days late, but the announcement was huge.

The original Texas global retail giant 7-Eleven is set to close some +/-440 stores across North America.

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Now I know what you may be thinking.... "We don't have no 7-Levens around here," but you'd be surprised. While 7-Eleven sprawls across Central Oklahoma, the company encompasses several different brands with a far broader reach in the Sooner State.

Mainly Stripes, Laredo Taco Company, and Speedway fueling stations.

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All the same, while the idea of closing 440-ish locations seems very large, it only represents around 3% of 7-Eleven's locations on our continent, less than 1% worldwide.

Why are they closing?

There are many reasons why a giant national chain might be struggling a little bit in this awful economy, but it's surprisingly good news for America.

The biggest reason is North America's demand for cigarettes is shrinking, and that was a core demand big-ticket item for 7-Eleven. Even more so than the humble original Slurpee.

The chain highlighted that cigarette sales, once the largest sales category for convenience stores, have fallen 26% since 2019 and that a shift in sales to other nicotine products has failed to make much of a difference.

Where are they closing stores at?

That certainly is a million-dollar question. So far, 7-Eleven has been tight-lipped about which locations are being shuttered. There is no list as of yet, it's more of a plan.

The stores that will get the axe are those listed as "Underperforming" in the corporate memos we aren't privy to yet. In time, the list will come out, or you'll just drive past a boarded-up location one random day.

Only time will tell.

The new trend in convenience stores.

While it surely won't be a nail in the coffin for 7-Eleven's signature small convenience store brands, this may be a sure sign of the changing times.

7-Eleven has been the largest convenience retailer on Earth for a long time, but there is a growing movement in the gas station space. No longer interested in a quick fuel-stop, grabbing a soda and candy to get you down the road, travel centers are quickly dominating the space.

Think of Buc-ee's, Casey's, Hutch's, and the like. That's where that industry appears to be going. We'll see how 7-Eleven evolves to continue to be relevant.

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