7-Eleven Franchisees Vote No Confidence in Corporate Leadership

After a months-long deterioration of franchisor-franchisee relations, the National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees (NCASEF) released a statement in which it revealed its board has cast a vote of no confidence in the brand’s corporate leadership.

NCASEF represents the owners of nearly 7,000 franchised 7-Eleven locations in the U.S. The vote comes after NCASEF “repeatedly” asked 7-Eleven CEO Joe DiPinto to take steps to repair the broken relationship with store operators.

A multitude of issues concerning franchisees prompted the vote, chief among them the new “take it or leave it” franchise agreements -- written and implemented without collaboration, input or negotiation with franchisees -- that owners believe will compound the brand’s declining profitability.

“We are at an absolute low point in the history of 7-Eleven in the United States,” NCASEF Chairman Jay Singh said in a statement. “A recent survey of our franchise owners shows how bad things really are. Only 18 percent of current owners say, if they had to do it all over again, they would invest in 7-Eleven.”

Read the full statement here.