Why There Are No 7-Eleven Stores in Georgia as of 2023

7-Eleven‘s Pervasive yet Particular Footprint

With over 9,000 stores across 33 states and the District of Columbia, 7-Eleven is the world’s largest convenience retailer. However, that ubiquity does not extend to every corner of the country. In fact, 7‐Eleven does not operate in 17 states, with Georgia as one noticeable blank spot on its domestic map surrounded by stores in neighboring states.

So why has Georgia been passed over as 7‐Eleven aggressively expands its iconic c-store concept elsewhere across America? The reasons are rooted in 7‐Eleven’s unique franchising-focused business model and strategic priorities for national growth.

An Overview of 7-Eleven‘s Franchise Model

While 7-Eleven is a massive company raking in over $27 billion in system-wide sales annually, fewer than 100 of its 10,000+ global stores are actually corporate-owned. Instead, over 95% of 7‐Eleven outlets are franchises, reflecting one of the highest franchise-to-corporate location proportions among leading retail brands.

This sprawling franchise ecosystem has been integral to 7‐Eleven‘s ability to scale rapidly, especially internationally. Independent operators assume most costs like real estate and payroll to establish and run their local 7-Eleven store, while the company collects royalties and franchise fees in exchange for use of its brand, products, and proprietary technology.

Access to territories is strictly limited under prevailing legal agreements in North America which grant operating rights to one franchise entity per geographical area. So for 7‐Eleven to expand organically, they are reliant on existing franchisees electing to take on additional stores or new franchisees stepping forward to claim open territories.

Examining Georgia‘s Existing Retail and Gas Station Landscape

Georgia‘s convenience retail landscape already has many well-established players with roots across the state dividing up the market. Major chains with a strong Peach State presence include RaceTrac (~330 locations), QuickTrip (~230 locations), Parker‘s (~200 locations), and Spinx (~70 locations). Collectively these companies likely account for 50-60% of Georgia‘s c-store industry market share.

In contrast, 7‐Eleven has no presence in Georgia despite stores existing right over the border in most surrounding states including Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina.

With such an already saturated field of convenience options, 7‐Eleven may face more limited opportunities to organically establish and grow a franchisee network in Georgia without engaging in an aggressive store acquisition strategy.

Site Selection Strategy Focused In Urban Growth Markets

7‐Eleven does have a published site selection manual for prospective franchisees that outlines key criteria they evaluate when determining viable territories and locations to extend their brand footprint. These emphasize major metro hubs and upcoming neighborhoods:

• Minimum household population and density thresholds in the surrounding market area
• Proximity to major transportation corridors and anchor businesses that drive foot traffic
• New residential and commercial development underway indicating growth potential

While Georgia meets basic population marks, it lacks a mega city on the scale of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles which have formed the anchor for 7‐Eleven’s growth in other states. And with competitors already saturating sites across Georgia‘s urban and suburban markets, coupling the necessary scale and density of stores for a greenfield 7‐Eleven venture could pose challenges.

Growth Trajectory Divergence Among Top Convenience Brands

We can look at growth over the past several years to see the divergence in expansion strategy between 7‐Eleven and companies like main Georgia player RaceTrac:

The chart shows while RaceTrac has been aggressively expanding locations to further dominate the Georgia market, 7‐Eleven has yet to make similar moves – likely finding more favorable growth prospects in other regions.

The Road Ahead

While Georgians are still left making late night runs to RaceTrac instead of their nearest 7‐Eleven for now, there are indicators a shakeup could eventually come. With the convenience store market growing at record clips coming off 2020‘s shifts in shopping behaviors, hungry competitors see retail fuel stations as increasingly critical infrastructure to meet evolving consumer needs for immediacy and proximity.

This could attract a bid from 7‐Eleven to establish a foothold in the region, whether by enabling expansion-minded franchisees through altered territory agreements, or forcefully entering the Georgia market through acquisition of an existing c-store chain‘s locations were one to go up for sale.

So while the Peach State does not fit 7‐Eleven’s typical greenfield growth profile currently, it remains a major gap in their domestic footprint, and one the retailer may be compelled to fill were market dynamics to shift.