Central Texas, Northeast Florida Key to 7-Eleven's Expansion Plans

AUSTIN, Texas and JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After a year of record worldwide store growth, 7-Eleven is continuing to push for expansion in multiple markets in 2013. The Dallas-based retailer, which operates, franchises or licenses more than 10,000 stores in North America and 50,000 stores globally, is focusing on the central Texas and northeast Florida regions, according to media reports.

In Texas, 7-Eleven purchased 163 TETCO stores in November, many of which are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas. It also opened, or is in the process of constructing, multiple new stores in Austin, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Some of the new builds are franchised, and some are company-owned.

"We recognize that Austin is a very dynamic city with exceptional growth and opportunities," stated 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris. "It makes sense to add stores where we already have a concentration of successful operations. We want to grow with the city."

The c-store chain has 75 stores stretching from Temple to San Marcos, Texas, with 14 more in development, Chabris added.

In Florida, a year after ending a 22-year absence from the Jacksonville market, the company officially opened 12 stores this month, reported the Jacksonville Business Journal. Four more have received permits to begin construction this year.

The company didn't make its original goal of opening 15 to 20 Jacksonville-area stores during 2012, but Chabris stated 7-Eleven still hopes to reach its overall goal of opening 80 stores in the region by 2015. Its success partially hinges on the Jacksonville City Council, which is considering a three-year freeze of transportation fees that developers must pay for construction. A previous one-year moratorium ended last October.

The moratorium saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, allowing 7-Eleven to stretch the dollars it allocated for new stores, according to Chabris. "We want to build as many stores as we can with the budget we have," she said.