Dive Brief:
- 7-Eleven master franchisee Reliance Retail, which operated all 7-Eleven locations in India, has closed those stores, a spokesperson from 7-Eleven parent company Seven & i Holdings confirmed on Monday.
- Reliance operated 63 locations in India as of December 2025, the spokesperson said. That number dropped to 31 locations as of September, and all of those locations closed by the end of that month.
- The closures come about five years after Reliance first partnered with 7-Eleven to open the retailer’s convenience stores in India.
Dive Insight:
While it’s best known for its operations in Japan and North America, Seven & i said in 2023 it wanted to expand to 30 countries by 2030. With its departure from India, the company currently operates in 17 nations, and with the company’s new CEO and more food-focused expansion plans in North America in place, it’s not clear if reaching new countries remains a priority.
Still, Seven & i’s spokesperson said it hopes to have a future in India.
“While our aspiration to serve customers in India remains, we look forward to exploring several options to advance our presence in the market over the long term,” Seven & i’s spokesperson said in a statement. “At the same time, 7-Eleven International continues to strengthen its global business across existing and new markets to drive sustainable, long-term growth.”
7-Eleven’s India exit comes about four months after Seven & i announced an organizational transformation in its international business, which covers operations outside of Japan and North America. In June, the company created a new international business management office, which assumed operations of 7-Eleven Japan’s overseas business.
India isn’t the first country where 7-Eleven has ceased operating in the past few years. The company opened its first stores in Israel in 2023, but international news reports indicate those locations have since closed.
