SALT LAKE CITY -- 7-Eleven Inc. plans to add two-dozen storesalong the "Wasatch Front" in the Salt Lake City area over the next three years, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. The retailer said it is partnering in the Salt Lake City market with NAI Corporate Real Estate Services (NAI CRES) to add to the 111 convenience stores that the company already has in the state. Of those, 77 are in the Salt Lake area.
The company is building two stores that are set to open by the end of June, said the report. Three more are scheduled to open later in the year, it added.
In [image-nocss] addition to building new stores, 7-Eleven also is converting retail outlets that have operated under other brands to the company's format, spokesperson Margaret Chabris told the newspaper. Nearly 180 independent stores already have been converted to the 7-Eleven brand nationwide since 2005, she said.
Earlier this month, the company announced a real-estate partnership with NAI CRES to build its presence in the Las Vegas area and add an expected 15 to 20 new 7-Eleven stores over the next three years to its more than 160 stores already in Clark County, Nev. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.)
Dallas-based 7-Eleven, whose stores typically include 2,400 to 3,000 square feet of space, is among a fairly small group of retailers continuing to expand during bad economic times, the report said.
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"Most retailers have scaled back their expansions right now," Jason Smith, vice president of NAI CRES, told the Tribune.
But commercial real estate specialists say low- to moderately priced retailersand restaurants that cater to price-conscious consumersare holding their own or, like 7-Eleven, expanding. Those that are expanding are finding great deals on property leases and purchases, he said. That is because the recession has caused a number of companies to go out of business or close locations. Vacancies are up, pushing down the lease rates and sales prices of commercial properties.
"It's a great opportunity for both tenants and buyers right now," J.R. Moore, a retail specialist with CB Richard Ellis in Salt Lake City, told the paper. On the restaurant side, Moore said quick-service eateries are doing well in the recession. "New space is becoming available and there are great lease rates and a lot of incentives by landlords and developers," he said.
NAI CRES, an affiliate of NAI Utah based in Salt Lake City, is a full-service commercial real-estate firm that provides customized corporate real estate outsourcing solutions to companies that have national and international real-estate needs. It has transactional experience in more than 700 markets throughout the United States.
7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 8,100 7-Eleven stores in North America. Globally, it operates, franchises or licenses close to 37,500 stores in 16 countries. During 2008, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $53.7 billion.
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