The chairman of 7-Eleven’s parent company stepped down Thursday amid a succession struggle, The New York Times reported.
Toshifumi Suzuki resigned from Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. after the retailing giant’s board rejected his attempt to remove Ryuichi Isaka as president of the Japanese arm of the convenience story operator, 18,613-unit Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd.
Isaka, who is 58 years old, is seen as a possible successor to 83-year-old Suzuki, who reportedly was trying to position his son, Yasuhiro Suzuki, as his replacement. The younger Suzuki, age 51, is currently Seven & i’s chief information officer.
The chairman said he was stepping down to take responsibility for the failed attempt at the reshuffle, but denied accusations of nepotism.
According to the Times, Isaka enjoys the support of Daniel Loeb, CEO of Third Point, a New York City-based hedge fund that owns part of Seven & i.
Toshifumi Suzuki, who had been Seven & i’s chairman since 2005, helped create the company through the merger of three Japanese retailers.
The U.S. division of the company, Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc., did not respond to requests for comment at press time.
There are more than 7,300 7-Eleven locations in the United States, of which nearly 6,400 units are franchised. Globally, there are more than 54,000 units of the convenience-store chain, with global sales of $20.7 billion.
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