New challenges await one of the world’s largest retail store chains

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 08. 20. 11:30

7-Eleven, the world’s largest retail chain, operates more than 84,000 stores in 19 countries, making it a dominant player in the global trade sector. The company was founded in Texas in 1927, but was acquired by Japan in the 1990s. The name 7-Eleven originally referred to the opening hours from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. However, many of their stores now operate 24 hours a day, although these are typically smaller stores and do not compete directly with the large supermarket chains.

The retail sector may be facing another major shake-up as Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, owner of K Circle stores, has announced its intention to acquire the Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven. The move would create a super chain covering nearly a fifth of the US market. There have been various reports about the proposed price, but according to the Fortune business newspaper, the value of the acquisition can be put at 86 billion dollars, which in Hungarian forints is more than 30 thousand billion, i.e. equivalent to almost half of Hungary’s annual GDP.

The announcement of the acquisition intention had an immediate impact on 7-Eleven’s shares, whose value rose by 23% in one day. This suggests that the market is positive about the deal and believes that the Japanese parent company would benefit from the sale. If the deal goes through, it will be the largest Japanese company acquisition of all time.

However, the takeover is far from certain. The American Competition Authority must also approve the merger, which can be a serious obstacle, considering that the creation of the new corporate giant can distort market competition. Couche-Tard has already encountered such a problem: in 2021, it tried to acquire the French Carrefour chain, but the deal was eventually blocked by the French state.