No. of Seven-Eleven stores in Japan falls for 1st time in 5 yrs

The number of domestic convenience stores operated by Seven-Eleven Japan Inc. dropped by 24 in September from the previous month to 20,993, marking the first fall in five years, company officials said Friday.The data come a day after its parent, Seven & i Holdings Inc., unveiled major restructuring plans at its group firms, including a planned cut of about 3,000 jobs.The fall in the number of stores apparently reflects slowing growth in the industry as the domestic convenience store market has become saturated.But Seven-Eleven Japan said the drop was only temporary. The company has slowed d…READ FULL ARTICLE