7-Eleven is heading to Far North Queensland, investing more than $15m to open about 15 stores over the next two years.

General manager – channel, Braeden Lord, said “We’re starting in Townsville and Cairns and will be continuing to explore the region which we feel has a huge potential for growth.”

7-Eleven has set June 2022 as the deadline for these initial stores to open, and Braeden is expecting the rate of growth to ramp up through 2023.

The significant investment in the region will deliver plenty of employment opportunities; at least 200 full time jobs are predicted for the construction stage and about 150 local jobs for ongoing operations.

Each convenience store will operate with up to 15 team members in a mix of full-time, part time and casual roles.

“We provide extensive training to ensure people are set up for success on opening day so previous experience in convenience, petrol and retail isn’t a requirement,” explained Braeden.

“Recent investments in our supply chain have made it possible for us to bring our offer to Townsville and Cairns and we are incredibly excited about the chance to serve the local communities in Far North Queensland,” he said.

7-Eleven generally operates new stores as corporate retail outlets for at least a year before opening them up to franchising.

Within the last 12 months 7-Eleven has continued to roll out stores, recently opening its seventh new outlet for 2021.