First-class service sets Waterway Gas & Wash apart from the crowd. Some people would consider Henry Dubinsky a visionary, a man ahead ofhis time. As far back as 1970, he realized that carwash and gasoline were naturalbedfellows. Dubinsky, chairman and chief executive officer of Waterway Gas &Wash Co., knew even then that the two profit [...]
Meticulous vendor selection and an intense focus on proper rotation comprise some of the measures retailers take to build fortresses around their food programs. With great power comes great responsibility. So said "Uncle Ben" Parkerto his web-slinging nephew Peter in the 2002 summer smash Spider-Man. Asimilar maxim applies to convenience retailers in the food business: [...]
As senior vice president of sales and marketing for GPM Investments LLC, Brad Chivington does everything in his power to make sure his company's 160 Fas Mart and Shore Stop stores perform at a consistently high level. And when the stores show measurable improvement
Baton Rouge’s upscale LA Rouge Mart meets at the intersection of Opulence and Convenience. In 1993′s dinosaurs-run-amok blockbuster Jurassic Park, the park’screator John Hammond often repeated the phrase, “spared no expense.” Louisianaentrepreneur Muhammed S. Khan can say the same. But unlike the film, in whichbloodthirsty dinosaurs revolted and tore the island to shreds, Khan’s investmentsin [...]
While creating a safer environment for employees, Kent Oil witnessed as much as a 19% increase in sales in one of two stores testing a new surveillance system. Bill Kent has always had a simple goal: to deliver the best possiblelevel of customer service in his stores. Up till two and a half years ago, [...]
First Stop Convenience Stores has implemented Pricebook Connect fromTiva Software LLC (www.tivasoftware.com),in conjunction with barcode scanners from Socket Communications Inc.(www.socketcom.com ) toimprove the speed and accuracy of order processing and information sharing forits chain of 30 stores throughout Ohio and Kentucky. Using the handheld system,First Stop has automated its inventory management process and simplified datacollection, [...]
Mapco Express Inc., a subsidiary of Delek US Holdings Inc. (Franklin,TN) that operates a network of close to 400 stores in the Southeast, has adoptedClarity Systems’ ( www.claritysystems.com)Clarity Performance Management as its planning, reporting and performance-monitoringstandard. During its evaluation, Mapco reviewed several products, but one ofthe main advantages of choosing Clarity was its technical adaptability, [...]
Carolina Petroleum Distributors (Charlotte, NC), which owns and operatesmore than 60 high-volume convenience stores under the Petro Express brand inthe Carolinas, has implemented an Internet software solution from TelaPointInc. to streamline and manage its fuel marketing and transportation schedulingprocesses. The retailer is using TelaFuel (www.telafuel.com),a browserbased application suite, to improve management of fuel replenishmentoperations serving [...]
7-Eleven Inc. (Dallas, TX) now offers in its stores Formula 7
Not many convenience stores serve Salad Nioise (Albacore tuna withbaby greens, tomatoes, haricot verts, potatoes, hard boiled eggs, anchoviesand nioise olives with a citrus vinaigrette) or Egg Florentine (classicegg salad with parmesan and spinach on a buttery croissant) as part of theirprepared foods offers. Not many convenience stores offer wine tastings and canapsat the bar [...]
The images we see and stories we hear run the gamut, from disturbing to redeeming. America
Waterway Gas & Wash Co. (Chesterfield, MO) has added MichelleSausen as its director of merchandising. Before joining Waterway Gas &Wash, Sausen served McLane Grocery Distribution as vice president of sales forthe company's Western and Minnesota divisions. Keith Morrow, chief technology officer for 7-Eleven Inc. (Dallas,TX) and the company itself have been named among CIO 100 [...]
With gas prices reaching obscene levels, sales of premium cigarettes could suffer in the short term. The past 10 months have been a pretty wild ride for Julie Van Alyea.Van Alyea, retail merchandise manager for Redwood Oil Co. (Santa Rosa, CA),has noticed a significant change in her most important instore category: cigarettes.While she has heard [...]
Independent marketers have the ability to buy like the big boys. Karen McGuire regards Doug Van Zee, a retail consultant for CHS Inc.,as a key person in her life. As general manager of two Cenex branded locationsin Mitchell, SD, McGuire doesn’t have time to chase down the best deals forher stores. But since she joined [...]
If the “Monster” Blackout of 2003 taught retailers anything, it’s toprepare for the worst. During that blackout, which affected much of the EastCoast, Ohio and parts of Canada, retailers tried to go on with business as usualoras well as they could in the dark (see Black Knights, p. 16, Sept. ’03).And as Hurricane Katrina has [...]