DALLAS -- 7-Eleven Inc. has a growth plan to hit 300 stores in Dallas/Fort Worth by the end of 2009, said GlobeSt.com. The countdown is starting with 245 convenience stores for the brand headquartered there. "I am challenging the team to reach 300 stores by the end of 2009, and we will accomplish that through acquisitions, ground-up and franchise opportunities," James Massey, 7-Eleven's real estate manager, told the real-estate website. "Acquisitions are a lot faster way to grow so we are keeping a sharp eye out for acquisitions." The 20% growth goal is equal to another 45 stores in Dallas/Fort [image-nocss] Worth, said the report.
The chain's immediate plan has been seeded by a 27-store lease with Quik Way Retail Associates II LLC of Dallas at Shell-branded stations in the metroplex (click here to read CSP Daily News coverage).
Massey said the companies struck a 15-year lease with renewal options for the c-stores, averaging 2,400 square feet. The $10-million to $15-million initiative includes remodeling and rebranding the c-stores. The weekend was marked by the grand reopening of 15 stores, with the remaining dozen to be done by year's end.
Massey said the 7-Eleven team is looking for similar deals all across the country to grow the brand. Two years ago, 7-Eleven bought more than 200 White Hen stores in the Chicago area and has just two stores left to rebrand.
"We are no longer married to a particular brand of gas. We can be flexible on the gas brand so we can bring the 7-Eleven format to a number of different customers," Massey told the website. "We are aggressively growing and we are looking at several ways to grow." And, he confirmed that there are sites under review for ground-up construction in the metropolitan area.
The company also has started a business conversion program. It has a separate agreement with Quik Way for another half-dozen stores in Dallas/Fort Worth, the report said. The first shop under the program opened July 1 in Plano, Texas. In Fort Worth, 7-Eleven reopened seven stores. In Dallas, rebrandings debuted at two locations. Other reflagged stores were in North Richland Hills, Arlington, Allen, Grand Prairie, Grapevine and Plano, Texas, according to the report.
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