7-Eleven quietly takes over the Stripes 1,300-store convenience chain

In many cases, when a brand buys one of its rivals, it tends to eliminate any trace of that former competitor.

That can happen even when the buyer promises to respect the legacy of the original brand.

In 2025, for example, the famed Kum and Go brand disappeared from the world of convenience stores, even though its former owner thought that wasn't the plan.

When former Kum & Go CEO Kyle Krause and his family made the deal to sell their chain to Maverik, they had been led to believe that their iconic brand name would be kept, according to the Des Moines Register.

That did not happen, and late last year, the Maverik brand fully replaced the memorable and arguably iconic Kum & Go brand.

Something similar is quietly happening now, as 7-Eleven has been slowly replacing Stripes branding with its own at the 1,300-store-strong chain it finished purchasing in 2024. The chain, however, is not disappearing the Stripes brand completely.

7-Eleven bought Stripes in pieces

Sunoco, which previously owned the Stripes brand, sold 1,108 stores from the chain, across 18 states, to 7-Eleven in 2017. At the time, the gas station brand retained over 200 Stripes locations.

"This acquisition supports our growth strategy in key geographic areas, including Florida, the mid-Atlantic states, the Northeast states, and Central Texas," former 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto said at the time.

The deal faced scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after a complaint was filed charging that the sale would harm competition in 76 local markets across 20 metropolitan statistical areas.

It was approved by the FTC with some conditions.

"Under the terms of the final order, 7-Eleven is required to sell 26 retail fuel outlets that it owns to Sunoco, and Sunoco is required to retain 33 fuel outlets that 7-Eleven otherwise would have acquired. Sunoco intends to convert the acquired or retained stations from company-operated sites to commission agent sites," according to an FTC press release.

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7-Eleven fully kept the Stripes brand in operation through 2024, when it purchased the remaining 200-plus stores from Sunoco.

"7-Eleven's latest deal cements its full ownership of both the Stripes and Laredo Taco brands, which it has had partial control over for the past handful of years," according to C-Store Dive.

7-Eleven takes over Stripes stores

Once 7-Eleven took full ownership of Strips from Sunoco, it began integrating its systems into the chain and replacing its branding, at least partially.

Notable changes made to the Stripes stores have included the shift from former operator Cal's PDI software to 7-Eleven's platform, new point-of-sale systems, restaurant renovations, fuel brand conversions, and rollouts of 7-Eleven's food offerings, including its roller grill hot dogs and Slurpees, 7-Eleven Vice President of Integration Melese Tiruneh posted on LinkedIn.

"Most importantly, we integrated stores into 7-Eleven systems, standards, culture, and operational excellence while continuing to elevate the customer and vendor experience," he added.

In many cases, however, Stripes exterior branding has remained, and 7-Eleven continues to keep that brand name even though the stores' interiors integrate 7-Eleven branding.

The stores now run on 7-Eleven systems and standards, even where Stripes branding remains in place.

They even use the company's rewards program, but parts of the chain kept the Stripes name. 7-Eleven has not shared a list of which stores have been fully rebranded, which have kept their original name, and whether further changes are planned.

"Looking at 7-Eleven's full integration of the Stripes footprint, it shouldn't be viewed as a corporate erasure, but rather as a great form of operational and product diversity. By overlaying a massive national logistics network onto a beloved regional powerhouse, you're actually giving the consumer the best of both worlds," TheStreet advisor and RTMNexus CEO Dominick Miserandino said.

7-Eleven, he noted, also kept Stripes famous taco brand and has even integrated it into some of its new stores.

"The neighborhood gets to keep the hyper-localized culture and food they love.

Stripes' iconic Laredo Taco Company counters are now backed by 7-Eleven's world-class infrastructure," he added.

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 8:46 AM.