Seven & i unveils 1.7-fold sales growth plan amid takeover pressure

Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co aims to increase its group sales 1.7-fold to over 30 trillion yen by fiscal 2030, its president said Thursday, amid pressure to raise its corporate value following a renewed takeover bid from a Canadian rival.

The new goal, presented by Ryuichi Isaka at an online briefing for investors, will be a huge jump from the 17.7 trillion yen it posted in sales in the year ended February.

The operator of the Seven-Eleven convenience store chain will also expand its number of stores to 100,000 outlets in 30 countries and regions from the current about 85,000 in 20 countries and regions, he said.

"There are many countries we have not entered," Isaka said. "We have a huge potential to grow in the global market by further expanding our network."

The new targets came two weeks after Seven & i said it had received a new takeover bid from Canadian convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc, with a source familiar with the matter saying the offer price increased by about 20 percent from the initial offer to about 7 trillion yen.

The Japanese company had turned down the initial offer, saying it "grossly undervalues" its worth.

Seven & i announced a series of restructuring plans after the new offer in an apparent bid to fend off Couche-Tard's takeover attempt by boosting its share price.

Higher corporate value generally makes it difficult for a takeover attempt to go through, as an offer price is usually calculated based on a target company's market capitalization.

The Japanese company said Oct 10 it will focus more on its convenience store business by separating it from noncore operations while also planning to change its name to "7-Eleven Corp" to emphasize its focus on the retail brand.