7-Eleven To Increase Presence in the Hub

BOSTON-7-Eleven wants to greatly increase the number of its stores here and is willing to change its traditional format to do that. The Dallas-based convenience store chain–the world’s largest–has developed an urban-format strategy that involves smaller stores and daily deliveries that it hopes will allow it to more effectively enter urban areas.

A spokesperson for 7-Eleven tells GlobeSt.com that Boston is one of four markets–the others are New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles–where the retailer is looking to expand. She notes that the urban-store format involves sites that range from 1,500 sf to 2,000 sf rather than the standard 2,500 sf to 3,000 sf. The smaller format will allow the stores to fit into existing structures in the city.

Recently, the company opened a store on Washington Street in the South End in a former bank branch. “In suburbia we have freestanding stores but with the dense concentration of buildings in the city we look at what ever will work,” says the spokesperson.