Seven & i honorary chairman and Ito-Yokado founder Ito dies at 98 -company

Masatoshi Ito, the founder of Japan's Ito-Yokado retail group that became the holding company of 7-Eleven convenience stores, passed away on March 10 at the age of 98, the company said.

Ito served as honorary chairman of Seven & i Holdings Co , which operates about 80,000 stores worldwide, including 7-Eleven shops and the Speedway convenience store chain in the United States.

The company said last week it would close 14 Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan and fully exit from the apparel business as part of a structural reform plan.