Circle K / 7-11 Merger?

[ClownLoach]

Circle K stores are generally very nice looking with updated decor. They are building a new Circle K at a 76 Station down the street from my house right in front of an existing 7-Eleven. The new Circle K stores are huge and nice. They even have restrooms. 7-Eleven is rundown and none have restrooms.

For some reason we are inundated with brand new 7-Eleven gas station builds here and they are universally foul and disgusting. I wonder if they discipline the employees for cleaning the store? Seriously, it is remarkable to me how little pride they show in their operations, not to mention their obligations to run a safe environment per health standards. I guess that as long as the health inspector can take the temperature of the hot dogs and find that they're warm enough they pass? Several were obviously going to be Speedway sites based on the layout of the pumps and building, but the interiors were built out as 7-Eleven and they are disgusting as usual.

Circle K seems to be more willing to invest in new stores, although they do have a lot of really old sites that need to be leveled and rebuilt. Lots of stores with just a couple of gas pumps and a corner market. But their new sites are really the closest thing we have to a big operator like QT in SoCal. The more of those they build, the more share they'll get.

[storewanderer]

Circle K stores are generally very nice looking with updated decor. They are building a new Circle K at a 76 Station down the street from my house right in front of an existing 7-Eleven. The new Circle K stores are huge and nice. They even have restrooms. 7-Eleven is rundown and none have restrooms.

For some reason we are inundated with brand new 7-Eleven gas station builds here and they are universally foul and disgusting. I wonder if they discipline the employees for cleaning the store? Seriously, it is remarkable to me how little pride they show in their operations, not to mention their obligations to run a safe environment per health standards. I guess that as long as the health inspector can take the temperature of the hot dogs and find that they're warm enough they pass? Several were obviously going to be Speedway sites based on the layout of the pumps and building, but the interiors were built out as 7-Eleven and they are disgusting as usual.

Circle K seems to be more willing to invest in new stores, although they do have a lot of really old sites that need to be leveled and rebuilt. Lots of stores with just a couple of gas pumps and a corner market. But their new sites are really the closest thing we have to a big operator like QT in SoCal. The more of those they build, the more share they'll get.

Two new 7-Elevens opened in Reno and they were really nice when they opened. However broken equipment was an issue from opening day. But they were nice and clean. They were opened by franchisees. Opening on one was severely delayed as they were trying to find a franchisee to take it, but eventually found an existing one to add the new location to their mix of 40 year old dive locations in lousy neighborhoods. The new locations fell into disrepair immediately with broken equipment, dirty, and employees not in uniforms or professional in any way. The gas pumps are controlled by 7-Eleven not the franchisee and multiple pumps are routinely broken and the price sign is routinely broken at one location; the other location the gas island appears maintained properly.

I've seen new build 7-Eleven units in other markets that are corporate operated and they seem to have significantly more staffing and things in better working order...

To be specific what I am referring to below are CORPORATE OPERATED Circle K units. So in CA those are the units that are Circle K/Mobil or just Circle K/Circle K Fuel. Not these various other "franchise" Circle K units which are partnered with various other fuel brands:

In some places like AZ/CO/IL there are also corporate Circle K/Shell units but out west none of those exist.

Circle K I've had mixed results with depending on the market. My experiences with them in CA even in new builds have not been good, however, the reason I am usually there is due to a low priced drink, and also due to low priced fuel and also they do not have that credit card fuel price surcharge in CA as most others have. So even if store condition is not good I do feel satisfied with these newer corporate Circle K units. I find Circle K to be highly variable depending on the region the store is located in. Their "West" region (CA/OR/WA) seems to run its stores poorly. Not impressed with their operation in CO either- really bad there, actually worse than CA- but again they are a "good deal" for what they offer so there is that part. AZ/IL/MN operation seems better.

[Alpha8472]

The Circle K Exxon in Dublin, California has really low priced fuel. It is cheaper than ARCO and even Costco. It does have the cash discount price vs. credit. The fountain drinks are cheap at 79 cents when other gas stations charge really high prices.

The remodeled Circle K looks really nice and clean. I was pleasantly surprised. Gas pumps are always in good condition and working.

I visited a 7-Eleven gas station the other night in Martinez, California. The gas price was kind of high and the convenience store was old looking. It had very few customers. The gas pumps were really old, but they were working.

7-Eleven seems to have a pattern of broken down drink machines, and lots of out of stocks on food. What kind of 7-Eleven doesn't stock any donuts, baked goods, or Twinkies?

None of the 7-Eleven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area seem to have restrooms. This causes many customers to drive to competing gas stations. That is a ton of lost business.

[storewanderer]

The Circle K Exxon in Dublin, California has really low priced fuel. It is cheaper than ARCO and even Costco. It does have the cash discount price vs. credit. The fountain drinks are cheap at 79 cents when other gas stations charge really high prices.

The remodeled Circle K looks really nice and clean. I was pleasantly surprised. Gas pumps are always in good condition and working.

I visited a 7-Eleven gas station the other night in Martinez, California. The gas price was kind of high and the convenience store was old looking. It had very few customers. The gas pumps were really old, but they were working.

7-Eleven seems to have a pattern of broken down drink machines, and lots of out of stocks on food. What kind of 7-Eleven doesn't stock any donuts, baked goods, or Twinkies?

None of the 7-Eleven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area seem to have restrooms. This causes many customers to drive to competing gas stations. That is a ton of lost business.

7-Elevens in Reno haven't offered restrooms pretty much ever. 30+ years. The old stores with restrooms "in the back" do not let customers back there for safety reasons. As newer stores opened with a customer-accessible restroom in a corner they did not clean restrooms, franchisees who have older "no restroom" stores seemed to get annoyed with having a customer-accessible restroom due to having to clean/supply it so started to make the customer-accessible restrooms either locked or with a constant "out of order" sign present.

There are a few larger units they acquired that by virtue of design, do offer customer accessible restrooms (doorless restrooms). They are without fail filthy and not clean.

[ClownLoach]

7-Eleven has rejected the proposal, calling it "opportunistic" and "undervalued" because of the weak Japanese yen and tough regulatory environment in the US.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9w74dwkgno

[pseudo3d]

The Circle K Exxon in Dublin, California has really low priced fuel. It is cheaper than ARCO and even Costco. It does have the cash discount price vs. credit. The fountain drinks are cheap at 79 cents when other gas stations charge really high prices.

The remodeled Circle K looks really nice and clean. I was pleasantly surprised. Gas pumps are always in good condition and working.

I visited a 7-Eleven gas station the other night in Martinez, California. The gas price was kind of high and the convenience store was old looking. It had very few customers. The gas pumps were really old, but they were working.

7-Eleven seems to have a pattern of broken down drink machines, and lots of out of stocks on food. What kind of 7-Eleven doesn't stock any donuts, baked goods, or Twinkies?

None of the 7-Eleven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area seem to have restrooms. This causes many customers to drive to competing gas stations. That is a ton of lost business.

7-Elevens in Reno haven't offered restrooms pretty much ever. 30+ years. The old stores with restrooms "in the back" do not let customers back there for safety reasons. As newer stores opened with a customer-accessible restroom in a corner they did not clean restrooms, franchisees who have older "no restroom" stores seemed to get annoyed with having a customer-accessible restroom due to having to clean/supply it so started to make the customer-accessible restrooms either locked or with a constant "out of order" sign present.

There are a few larger units they acquired that by virtue of design, do offer customer accessible restrooms (doorless restrooms). They are without fail filthy and not clean.

I think that while 7-Eleven sold off a lot of stores in the late 1980s and early 1990s the ones they didn't are generally in bad shape. The Austin area ones I was familiar with were a hodgepodge of acquired stores and new-builds. (The new-builds weren't in great shape either).

The Reno ones sound like they should've purged years ago, but I always get the impression that fast foods and other stores are all universally run terribly in Reno.

[ClownLoach]

The Circle K Exxon in Dublin, California has really low priced fuel. It is cheaper than ARCO and even Costco. It does have the cash discount price vs. credit. The fountain drinks are cheap at 79 cents when other gas stations charge really high prices.

The remodeled Circle K looks really nice and clean. I was pleasantly surprised. Gas pumps are always in good condition and working.

I visited a 7-Eleven gas station the other night in Martinez, California. The gas price was kind of high and the convenience store was old looking. It had very few customers. The gas pumps were really old, but they were working.

7-Eleven seems to have a pattern of broken down drink machines, and lots of out of stocks on food. What kind of 7-Eleven doesn't stock any donuts, baked goods, or Twinkies?

None of the 7-Eleven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area seem to have restrooms. This causes many customers to drive to competing gas stations. That is a ton of lost business.

7-Elevens in Reno haven't offered restrooms pretty much ever. 30+ years. The old stores with restrooms "in the back" do not let customers back there for safety reasons. As newer stores opened with a customer-accessible restroom in a corner they did not clean restrooms, franchisees who have older "no restroom" stores seemed to get annoyed with having a customer-accessible restroom due to having to clean/supply it so started to make the customer-accessible restrooms either locked or with a constant "out of order" sign present.

There are a few larger units they acquired that by virtue of design, do offer customer accessible restrooms (doorless restrooms). They are without fail filthy and not clean.

I think that while 7-Eleven sold off a lot of stores in the late 1980s and early 1990s the ones they didn't are generally in bad shape. The Austin area ones I was familiar with were a hodgepodge of acquired stores and new-builds. (The new-builds weren't in great shape either).

The Reno ones sound like they should've purged years ago, but I always get the impression that fast foods and other stores are all universally run terribly in Reno.

They're building new 7-Eleven stations a block from fairly new 7-Eleven stations here. I think one main road is about to have 6 of them in 3 miles. I am still convinced that they soak every surface of the restroom in urine to prepare for opening, and every inch of the sales floor in melted Slurpee and Soda. Then they go out and break half the gas pumps.

[Alpha8472]

7-Eleven has been building new 7-Eleven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area just blocks away from older 7-Eleven stores in recent months. It is overkill, and somehow the new stores do seem to be poorly cleaned.

The new ones have better parking and are situated at gas stations. The old ones do not have gas stations.

Overall, it does reduce crowding at the older stores.

[buckguy]

7-11 seems to use saturation in a number of markets when they are in expansion mode. When they were making beginner Ning to re-invest in the DC area, they put a new store a block away from an existing one near where I work. Their Thai franchise has continually increased the density of their stores in Bangkok and upcountry cities. They continue to do well, although competitors have entered the market, including Lawson’s from Japan.

I’m now in Scandinavia and they maintain high densities of stores here, despite having several regional competitors. They seem to much more tailoring of store selections here and are willing to try different formats. The Copenhagen airport has a couple regular stores, as well as a setup that includes a coffee machine and vending machines for snacks and sundries. Circle K s here, too, but mostly outside urban centers. They’ve made a big investment in electric charging for cars, but don’t seem to offer high speed service or the most competitive pricing. Their main advantage is having a single payment app whereas payment apps can vary widely and people usually need to have several of them if they travel. Ultimately Apple Pay and Google Pay seem poised to replace all of that.

[storewanderer]

7-Eleven declined the offer. That is probably for the better.

Now Circle K can get back to other things. I just went into a former CST Corner Store now Circle K. One of the "new large" Corner Store units. Exterior signs did all say Circle K. Still had Valero fuel. Does not accept Circle K Inner Circle Rewards. Inside the store all of the store decor and signage is the old Corner Store interior package. The receipt has a slogan on it "DELIGHT CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY." That was Corner Store's slogan. They still use the Corner Store POS system (probably due to still having Valero fuel). Store was dirty, multiple pumps not working, drink area a mess. They were running the 0.79 any size fountain drink promotion. Iced tea equipment was present but had no tea in it and when I asked about it was told they "don't make that." This was as bad as a bad 7-Eleven. I am surprised since in Arizona and Colorado they converted and remodeled these former CST Corner Stores and ditched Valero fuel.