Alimentation Couche-Tard is set to open 100 company-operated Circle K convenience stores this year.
The move is part of a broader plan to add 750 locations globally over the next five years.
Most of the expansion will take place in North America, particularly in the US, which remains Couche-Tard’s largest market.
The Canadian-headquartered retailer said the first 100 will be newly built locations, with a further 650 to be added through a mix of new developments and small acquisitions.
President and CEO Alex Miller said the expansion reflects strong performance from recently built stores, which are outperforming older locations across key categories such as food, merchandise, and fuel.
“These sites sell a ton of food, they sell a ton of merch, they do strong volume,” Miller said.
Alongside new builds, the retailer plans to accelerate smaller acquisitions, particularly targeting operators with 10 stores or fewer.
“Couche-Tard currently has around 1000 stores in various stages of development but is maintaining its five-year target of 750 new stores to ensure disciplined growth,” said Aaron Brooks, senior VP of real estate and fuel customer.
“If there’s a quality asset that we can buy at an advantageous multiple and plug it into our scaled economies at a faster rate than we can build it, we are buying.”
The expansion follows Couche-Tard’s decision last year to withdraw its nearly $50 billion bid to acquire Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven.
