The 444 stores to close are among 13,000 stores the convenience chain has in the U.S. and Canada. A list of stores to close was not released by the company, which announced the plan to shutter the stores during its most recent earnings call late last week. The closures are expected to happen in the fourth quarter of this year.

The move comes as the convenience store’s parent company tries to stave off a takeover bid from the owner of competing chain Circle K. 7-Eleven is closing 444 of its “underperforming” convenience-store locations across North America,

Several hundred “underperforming” 7-Eleven locations across North America are closing, the convenience store announced.

The convenience retailer, which has 8 locations on Staten Island, has been hit hard by declining cigarette sales.

The ubiquitous convenience store owed its recent revenue drops to inflation, declining cigarette sales and a shift in palates toward fresh food and specialty drinks.

Last month, discount retailer, Big Lots announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company plans to sell the business to Nexus Capital Management. The retailer is also in the midst of closing hundreds of stores.

Eleven is closing 444 underperforming stores across North America to boost profitability amid declining foot traffic and a takeover bid from the parent company of rival convenience store chain Circle K.

In a strategic move, Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, has announced the closure of 444 stores across North America. This decision comes in response to declining sales, particularly in the cigarette category,