Convenience-store chain 7-Eleven is closing hundreds of "underperforming" stores in North America, its Japanese-owner said.

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

A total of 444 7-Eleven stores are being shut down across North America due to underperforming, the company announced. 7-Eleven’s Japan-based parent company, Seven & I Holdings, announced in an earnings report on Thursday that a decrease in sales, inflation and smaller traffic have impacted this decision.

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.

Eleven has opted to close more than 400 of its chain convenience stores amid declining cigarette sales and customer traffic. Officials at Japan-based Seven & i Holdings, the chain’s parent company, made the announcement during an earnings call last week,

Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of the convenience store chain, announced this week that it would be closing more than 400 stores throughout the country, according to a report in USA Today. In itsearnings release,

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.