News Briefs

7-Eleven is downsizing its footprint in North America.

The convenience store giant is planning to close 645 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico during its current fiscal year, which started March 1. That’s according to a recent filing from the Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven, Seven & i Holdings. Some of the locations are scheduled for “conversion to wholesale fuel stores,” according to the document.

At the same time, however, the company is also investing in new store growth. The company expects to open approximately 200 new 7-Eleven stores in North America during its current fiscal year, which started March.

The new locations will feature on the chain’s larger-sized, “food-forward" format. In August, 7-Eleven said the company had identified negative consumer perceptions around fresh food as one of its key challenges and, as such, would invest in stores and equipment to create a “distinctive” food offering to address the need to "draw customers with more differentiation.” 

The moves come as 7-Eleven prepares for a 2027 IPO, The offering had originally planned for 2026, but has been pushed ahead as the company looks to cut costs and turn around its North American business.

Amazon is taking a deeper dive into the auto business as dealers participating in the company's dedicated automotive storefront broaden their inventory.

Amazon launched Amazon Autos in 2024 with Hyundai as the first automaker able to sell vehicles on Amazon’s U.S. online store. Vehicle shopping and purchases happen directly within the Amazon store with features like customer reviews, seller (dealership) reviews, add to cart and the typical Amazon checkout process.

Since that time, the online giant has expanded Amazon Autos from 48 cities to more than 130 cities across the U.S., with hundreds of dealerships now listing inventory on Amazon.

Now, Amazon says dealers are starting to list new inventory from multiple brands in select cities, and the retailer will continue to help them do this across the country. Dealers are the seller of record on Amazon Autos and own the inventory, set the price, and can sell any brand they want to.

In 2025, Amazon expanded Amazon Autos to include used and certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles, enabling dealers to list their used vehicle inventory on the platform.

[READ MORE: Amazon enters the used car business]

Since introducing used vehicle sales, Amazon has partnered with Ford and Hertz Car Sales to expand its inventory in that product category. The company also says it is continually testing and innovating on the customer and dealer experience, including providing guided support on select purchases.

"This growth reflects the desire for a car-buying experience that combines the convenience and trust customers expect from Amazon with the personalized service only local dealers can provide," Fan Jin, global leader of Amazon Autos, said in a statement to Chain Store Age. "While still early days, we are seeing a strong response from customers and dealers and we continue to expand vehicle availability across the country."

Other Walmart Business products and services include Walmart Business Print, which enables organizational customers to design and place an order and then choose items with no-to-low minimum quantities to be shipped directly to them or picked up in-store. 

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: How Walmart Business serves commercial, nonprofit customers]

Chris Hampden, VP at global procurement and supply chain consultancy Proxima, weighs in on how the Strait of Hormuz blockade is impacting global trade flows in his commentary below.

"By only targeting vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports, the United States’ blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will hit countries importing goods from Iran the hardest. However, while the blockade will have trickle-down effects globally, the reality is that the Strait has been effectively closed since early March."

"However, Iran’s IRGC had imposed what amounted to a toll-and-escort system, where vessels could pay to be escorted through a controlled corridor. The U.S. has said it will intercept any vessel that has paid a toll to Iran, removing any remaining ambiguity about whether vessels can negotiate passage with Iran."

"While the risk of conflicts remains elevated, the blockade introduces a second layer of military risk. Vessels now face potential confrontation from both the U.S. and Iran. Insurance underwriters were already pricing Hormuz transits at crisis premiums, and this makes it worse."

"Looking ahead, the threat of escalation is higher than ever. Despite Iran vowing to treat U.S. military vessels near the Strait as a ceasefire violation, the U.S. is already conducting mine clearance operations. The probability of a direct military incident is rising again, which may push oil prices up further."

Construction input prices surged in March amid rising oil prices.

Overall construction input prices (includes energy, materials and equipment) increased 2.2% in March compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Commercial construction input prices rose 1.7% for the month. Input prices related to maintenance and repair construction rose 2.3%.

“Construction materials prices surged in March and are now up 4.8% year over year, the largest annual increase since January 2023,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist, ABC. “This monthly increase is due to higher oil prices, a direct result of conflict in Iran, and it remains to be seen how that seismic geopolitical event will affect other input prices in the months to come.” 

The rapid increase in diesel prices since late February, for instance, will raise shipping costs, putting upward pressure on virtually every construction material, Basu addedd.

The biggest increase seen in March was in crude petroleum, which prices rose 20.2%.

Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members.

The new mayor of New York City is moving along with one of his signature campaign promises.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that New York City will open a city-owned grocery store by the end 2027. Plans call for the store to be located at La Marqueta, a city-owned marketplace in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood, which is home to a diverse community challenged by affordability issues.

Mamdani announced the news at a rally in Queen, N.Y., over the weekend celebrating his first 100 days in office. 

“We’re going to make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table,” he told the crowd. “At our stores, eggs will be cheaper. Bread will be cheaper.”

The Mamdani administration plans to open the location at La Marqueta by the end of 2027, with a goal of having all five of the mayor's promised city-run grocery stores (one in each borough) up and running by end of his first term (close of 2029).

According to a report by wnbc, the city-run supermarket will feature select core foods that will be sold at a cheaper price compared to other supermarkets in New York City.

"The city will subsidize a core set of food staples," Mamdani said in the report. "A private operator will run the store, but will answer to the standards the city will set. These standards include requirements that at our stores bread will be cheaper. Eggs will be cheaper. Grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation. And workers will be treated with dignity."