Seven & I’s new CEO plans aggressive investments in U.S. stores

Seven & I Holdings’ new chief executive officer plans to boost investments in its U.S. stores using cash from a planned listing of its American retail operations.

"The initial public offering gives us the financial flexibility to invest a bit more aggressively in our stores,” Stephen Dacus, who was named to the leadership position last month, said in an interview on Friday. The Japanese operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores is in the middle of a restructuring to boost growth and shareholder value after years of weak investor returns made it the target of activist shareholders, as well as Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, which proposed to buy the company last year..