Reliance Retail opened India’s first 7-Eleven on the first floor of an apartment complex in Andheri East in 2021. The two-storey, 1700-square-foot store had a cafe, a range of snacks and fresh food built for local tastes, and a door sign promising round-the-clock trading. 

Seven & I Holdings, 7-Eleven’s Japanese parent, confirmed this week that its master franchisee had closed every outlet.

“We confirm that our Master Franchisee, Reliance, which operates 7-Eleven stores in Mumbai and Pune, closed all 31 stores on September 30,” the company said in a statement.

Seven & I declined to say why the stores closed. It said it still wants to serve Indian customers and will consider “several options” to build a long-term presence in the market. Reliance Retail has not commented publicly. 

Future Group signed the original franchise deal in February 2019, and founder Kishore Biyani spoke of opening 1000 stores in Mumbai alone before moving to other cities. Future opened none. Its subsidiary, Future 7-India Convenience, booked a net loss of Rs17.3 crore in FY21 without a single store trading, and the two sides ended the agreement in October 2021 after Future missed its store-opening targets and franchise-fee payments.

Reliance signed within days and opened the Andheri store that weekend. It took the network to a peak of about 60 stores. 

Christian Westphal, a creative and business strategist at SilverSpoon Consultancy, sees the exit as a verdict on the format rather than the brand. 

“This leaves a physical convenience store squeezed between the low-cost kirana and technology-led delivery,” he told Inside Retail .

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