7-Eleven's time-wasting isn't so convenient

THE LONG-STANDING slogan of 7-Eleven in Japan for many years was chikakute benri, meaning "close and convenient." It neatly sums up the chain's value proposition: Sure, you pay a bit more to shop there, but the convenience more than makes up for it. These days, though, it feels like a lot of time is being wasted at Seven & i Holdings, the parent company that's the target of a takeover proposal from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.

- Gearoid Reidy Bloomberg

Months of attempting to bring together a coalition of unlikely partners to keep the firm in Japanese hands through a management buyout — which involved the founding family, local banks, private equity and, most unusually, Itochu, the owner of rival chain FamilyMart — have come to nothing.

And now, in what looks to be the next phase to stave off the takeover, Seven & i Chief Executive Officer Ryuichi Isaka is being replaced with an outside director, the American Stephen Dacus, as reported by the Nikkei. The move seems designed to put a fresh face on the firm's global expansion as it seeks to be rid of unprofitable domestic supermarket chains and other businesses that have contributed to its conglomerate discount.