7-Eleven considers more in-house supply-chain work as consumers cut spending

7-Eleven Inc., the North American convenience-store and gas-station business owned by Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, is considering bringing parts of its supply chain in-house to cut costs, chief executive Mauricio Leyva said in a media interview reported by Reuters on October 9. The review comes as executives describe pressure on customers’ spending and rising costs across sourcing and distribution.

The proposal remains under consideration. Executives did not identify particular supplier contracts, affected facilities, an implementation timetable or quantified savings. Their comments concern additional capabilities, separate from existing integration efforts that the company says have already helped profitability.

Why 7-Eleven is considering more in-house operations

Leyva, who became chief executive in August, said consumers’ disposable income was under pressure. Reuters reported sluggish growth as customers curtailed spending amid inflation. Although higher fuel prices had lifted revenue, Leyva said costs were increasing across the supply chain and expected inflation and fuel-cost pressures to persist over the medium to long term.

The business has introduced better-value products to attract customers and is reshaping its sourcing and distribution network to pursue further savings, Leyva said. His assessment describes management’s response to trading conditions; it does not establish what any future changes would mean for shelf prices.

Fuel conditions support stronger operating profit

The company’s first-half fiscal 2026 results, released on October 8, show modest growth in merchandise sales alongside a much larger increase in operating profit. Seven & i reported U.S. same-store merchandise sales growth of 0.6% for 7-Eleven Inc. Merchandise gross profit margin increased by 0.3 percentage points to 33.5%.

Operating income rose 45.8% to US$1.32 billion. The company credited favorable fuel conditions and progress in vertical integration. Those reported benefits relate to work already undertaken, rather than the additional measures discussed in the October 9 interview.

Seven & i also said selling, general and administrative expenses remained within plan despite higher credit-card fees associated with increased fuel prices. That disclosure sits alongside Leyva’s account of continuing pressure on supply-chain costs.

The company reported first-half sales of US$550 million for its 7NOW delivery service, up 15.6%. It described the service as ahead of its US$1.1 billion full-year target while maintaining healthy profitability. Dacus attributed early North American progress to product quality, assortment, delivery growth and store-network optimization.

Seven & i maintained its full-year fiscal 2026 outlook, describing first-half performance as broadly consistent with its revised plan.

Earlier strategy already targeted fuel integration

Bringing more work inside the business builds on an earlier strategic direction. Seven & i’s September 2025 transformation plan identified vertical integration of the North American fuel business as a priority, proposing access to logistics infrastructure and network optimization to improve profitability.

The plan also proposed sharing expertise in supply chains, technology and operations across the group, with clearer management accountability and regular progress reviews. It said North American expense discipline had intensified since fiscal 2024 and that savings would support customer value.

Another ambition was to grow North American private-brand sales at three times the rate of overall sales over subsequent years. That was a strategic target, not an achieved result established by these disclosures.

Investment details and listing timing remain unresolved

Leyva said longer-term investments were principally self-funded, but the interview disclosed no budget for the proposed additional in-house capabilities. Their geographic scope and effects on jobs, suppliers, franchisee costs, product availability or customer prices remain unspecified.

The North American business’s planned stock-market listing also remains conditional. Reuters reported that Seven & i postponed it in April from the second half of 2026 to the financial year starting April 2027 or later, citing market uncertainty. That window is not a promised listing date.

Dacus said a future IPO depended on a change in the macroeconomic environment and that the company needed more time to convince investors its turnaround was working. He also characterized investor attention to artificial intelligence as crowding out retail and consumer-products offerings.