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DFI navigates ‘hardest’ market China as 7-Eleven stores profit despite online price wars
DFI plans to increase the number of mainland Chinese 7-Eleven outlets to 3,000 in ‘the next few years’, up from 2,000 now
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Themis QiPublished: 7:00am, 10 Aug 2026
For international retailers like DFI Retail Group, which operates 7-Eleven and Maxim’s in 12 global markets, mainland China is a tough market to crack given its “unsustainable” online subsidies, according to an executive.
“I think customers in China still have a very value-focused, careful use of their money [approach], and they still have a little bit of an unrealistic view as to what pricing should be,” said Scott Price, chief executive of the Asian retail giant, in a recent interview.
“I think China is one of the hardest markets that exists for retail.”
However, Chinese consumers’ pursuit of a higher quality of life would provide opportunities for retailers and the powerful supply chain on the mainland could help with cost control, he added.
DFI planned to increase the number of mainland Chinese 7-Eleven outlets to about 3,000 in “the next few years”, up from the current 2,000 stores, Price said.
The Chinese government has warned about “neijuan” – cutthroat competition that drives prices down and suppresses domestic demand. China’s e-commerce giants have been at the centre of the controversy as they fight to lure customers through aggressive subsidies.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x