Fighting against the takeover of Canadian rivals, the 7-Eleven Japanese parent company announced a major business reshuffle on Thursday, which included the appointment of its first foreign-born CEO.
Stephen Dacus, 64, is a member of the company's board of directors, and a long-time U.S. retail executive will hold the role in May, Seven & I Holdings said. It also said it plans to conduct an initial public offering of its U.S. convenience store business, which operates more than 13,000 branches in the country, in which it operates.
These moves are the company's latest attempt to prevent itself from being acquired by the retail group diet Couche-Tard, the Canadian owner of the Circle K Sisporience Store store chain. The company provided about $47 billion in seven people, the largest foreign-led Japanese company ever to lead the bid.
Japan's corporate landscape has resisted decades of change in many ways, starting to change in the face of foreign investors' attention. The restructuring of Seven&I, whose convenience stores are so ubiquitous in Japan that they are considered part of the national infrastructure, is the latest example of this shift.
Aggressive investors have long pushed 7&I to tear down its 7-Eleven convenience store business, believing that doing so will boost the valuation of the sprawling retail group, which ranges from supermarkets to stores selling stationery and baby products.
Seven & I said Thursday that a deal has been reached to sell some of these peripheral retail businesses to units of private equity giant Bain Capital, about $5.5 billion. It also said it aims to buy back more than $13 billion worth of shares by fiscal 2030 to help increase its value.
“We are at a critical turning point right now,” Dakos said in a press conference in Tokyo. With recent restructuring efforts, Seven&I's goal is to turn “ordinary retailers” to “global convenience store champions,” which will focus on bringing Japanese-quality food to overseas markets, including the United States.
Seven & My Boycott Couche-Tard’s Choice to Resistance to Acquisitions has decreased. In the second half of last month, Seven & My Founder's son Junro Ito bid for him to privatize it after he failed to get the necessary funds.
Mr. ITO's proposal has received some support from the upper level of the company, which they see as a way to take 7-11 into Japan's hands. It is believed that a buyout led by a basic family can help retain a corporate culture that prioritizes quality and customer experience rather than the typical Western values ​​of focusing on shareholder returns and big profits.
Couche-Tard said it will respect and seek to learn from Seven&I's operating methods.
When Mr. Dacus takes on a new role, he will have to convince shareholders, Seven and my new structure and the leadership team led by him and others in other existing management can drive growth without selling.
Seven&I’s former leader and its current CEO Ryuichi Isaka have been a Japanese executive who rose in the internal ranks, and Mr. Dacus has held top positions in many global brands.
Mr. Dacus, who speaks fluent Japanese and English, has also worked in the Japanese retail industry for many years at Uniqlo's parent company and Walmart's Japanese CEO for many years. He often spoke at a press conference Thursday, talking about his experiences on work nights from 7-11, with his father being a franchisee.
Under Mr. Isaka, Qi and I tried to make myself more valuable by moving out of underperforming businesses to focus on 7 stores in Japan and abroad. In October, the company announced plans to split its supermarket division and other peripheral divisions into a separate holding company. It also sets a goal of roughly doubled annual sales by 2030.
However, profits of seven people have stagnated in Japan in recent months. In overseas markets like the United States, things are getting worse. In the three months ended November, seven people's operating income fell by one third compared to the overseas convenience store business a year ago.
The seven shares fell more than 6% from earlier this week ahead of Thursday’s announcement, when Japanese media reported that the company planned to reject Couche-Tard’s offer. Seen & I denied the report and said Thursday that it is still interacting with Canadian retailers and considering its bid.
Growth and increasing pressure from investors negotiating a deal with Couche-Tard has led to Seven and I increasingly view Mr Dacus as the contender for the highest job in recent months. He had chaired the Independent Committee and evaluated Couche-Tard's acquisition proposal, but said Thursday that he would leave the position.
