UPDATE 1-Seven & I to spend $2.4 billion on U.S. expansion

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TOKYO, June 28 (Reuters) - Japanese retailer Seven & I Holdings (3382.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it will invest about 300 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in the next four years to open 1,000 convenience stores in the United States and revamp existing outlets there.

Seven-Eleven Japan, a unit of Seven & I, turned 7-Eleven Inc. in the United States into a 100 percent subsidiary in 2005 to gain better access to the local market and boost efficiency, a Tokyo-based spokesman said.

The Japanese retailer has not been vigorously investing in its 6,000 U.S. stores in the past few yearsBEV FOD US (Adds company announcement, background)

TOKYO, June 28 (Reuters) - Japanese retailer Seven & I Holdings said on Thursday it will invest about 300 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in the next four years to open 1,000 convenience stores in the United States and revamp existing outlets there.

Seven-Eleven Japan, a unit of Seven & I, turned 7-Eleven Inc. in the United States into a 100 percent subsidiary in 2005 to gain better access to the local market and boost efficiency, a Tokyo-based spokesman said.

The Japanese retailer has not been vigorously investing in its 6,000 U.S. stores in the past few years as it was focused on improving the unit's internal organisation and systems, he said.

Under the new expansion plan, Seven & I aims to lift product sales, including gasoline, by at least 15 percent from the level of 2006 to 1.2 trillion yen, the Nikkei business daily reported earlier.

Seven & I is trying to boost its presence in the world's biggest consumer market where competition is expected to further intensify with the entry of new players such as Britain's Tesco Plc into the convenience store sector, the Nikkei said.