China’s New Home Prices Post Sharpest Drop Since 2022 Amid Ongoing Property Slump 
Germany and China Reaffirm Open Trade and Strategic Partnership in Landmark Beijing Visit 
Snowflake Forecasts Strong Fiscal 2027 Revenue Growth as Enterprise AI Demand Surges 
Pentagon Weighs Supply Chain Risk Designation for Anthropic Over Claude AI Use 
Anthropic Refuses Pentagon Request to Remove AI Safeguards Amid Defense Contract Dispute 
Panama Investigates CK Hutchison’s Port Unit After Court Voids Canal Contracts 
Strait of Hormuz Oil and LNG Shipments Disrupted After U.S.-Israel Strikes on Iran 
Asian Markets Slide as Nvidia Earnings, U.S.-Iran Tensions and AI Valuations Weigh on Investor Sentiment 
Bank of Korea Holds Interest Rate at 2.50% as Growth Outlook Improves Amid AI Chip Boom 
Oil Prices Steady as US-Iran Nuclear Talks and Rising Crude Inventories Shape Market Outlook 
Dominican Republic Unveils Massive Rare Earth Deposits to Boost High-Tech and Energy Sectors 
Greg Abel’s First Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter Signals Continuity, Caution, and Capital Discipline 
Paramount Skydance to Acquire Warner Bros Discovery in $110 Billion Media Mega-Deal 
IMF Urges U.S. to Cut Fiscal Deficit to Reduce Trade and Current Account Gaps 
Gold Prices Rebound as U.S. Tariffs, Fed Policy and Iran Talks Drive Market Sentiment 
Coupang Reports Q4 Loss After Data Breach, Revenue Misses Estimates 
7-Eleven store chain company is hastening the conversion of Ministop stores in South Korea to become its own outlets. The works are ongoing as it wants to fully complete the changeover by the end of 2023.
As per The Korea Herald, Lotte Group's Korea Seven, which operates the 7-Eleven convenience stores in the country, said it is accelerating the conversion of Ministop outlets to secure its position in the market as one of the top three local convenience store operators.
Korea Seven bought the rights to Ministop earlier this year with the aim of building economies of scale against convenience store chain brands, including CU, which has 15,855 stores, and GS25, which operates 15,453 stores.
Moreover, Lotte’s affiliate, Lotte CVS 711, reportedly transferred an additional KRW20.5 billion or around $16 million, to Korea Seven to speed up the transformation of Ministop stores across the nation.
"With the assets, the company is expecting to accelerate the conversion of the two brands," one official of Korea Seven told The Korea Herald. "The plan is to convert 100% of Ministop stores by the end of 2023. The convenience store industry is heavily affected by 'economies of scale.' Increasing the sheer amount of stores is the most important thing right now.”
The company shared that as of last month, it has already converted 850 Ministop stores to 7-Eleven. This is said to be 32.6% of the total Ministops, which numbers 2,600.
The Korea Seven official further explained that by raising the number of stores, they could be in an advantageous position when negotiating with suppliers. Thus, they can diminish the costs needed for the production of 7-Eleven’s exclusive merchandise.
Meanwhile, Korea Joongang Daily mentioned that the local Fair Trade Commission (FTC) granted the approval for Lotte CVS to buy Ministop Korea from Japan's Aeon Group for KRW313.3 billion or about $256.9 million in March. Lotte CVS is a special purpose firm owned by Korea Seven, and it was launched in February for the purpose of acquiring Ministop Korea.
Photo by Duy Nguyen/Unsplash
