The time to create a winning game plan for attracting and retaining top employees is right now. I’ve been talking with two friendsabout the possibility of running theChevron Houston Marathon together this January. We kicked the ideaaround for a couple of months, butdidn’t actually sign up. When I finally checked out the raceinformation online, our [...]
For the past 12 months, Convenience Store Decisions has showcased some of the best and brightest category managementdecision makers from across the convenience store and petroleum industry. As 2006 comes to a close and the industry gearsup for what everyone hopes will be a prosperous 2007, CSD takes a look back at some of the [...]
Sam Anderson operates in one of the most competitivemarkets in the country. Rather than fret about thedaunting task of outselling the likes of Sheetz, Wawa and GetGo, he is focused on utilizing the tools at his disposalto put Pump n Pantry in a position to trump the competition. Anderson, vice president of store operations for [...]
CSD honors the San Antonio marketer as its 2006 Chain of the Year. In this age of cut-throat competition, fewchains are able to rise above theacrimony to stand out as a model corporate citizen. Valero Energy Corp. isat the top of that list, and that’s why itwas no surprise that more than 300retailers and suppliers [...]
In her continued quest to speakwith retailers excelling in their markets of operations, CSD publisher Shahla Hebets traveled to La Crosse,Wis., to meet with Steve Loehr, vicepresident of operations support forKwik Trip Inc. Loehr is a savvy industry veteranwith many years of service to Kwik Tripand the convenience store industry.His efforts through the years were [...]
The Southeast Petro-Food Marketing Exposition will be holding its26th regional show March 7-8, 2007, at the Myrtle BeachConvention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The expo, started by the North Carolina Petroleum MarketersAssociation in 1981, is the largest regional c-store/petroleumshow in the nation, and is sponsored by the following five associations: North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association [...]
Hot Stuff Foods (www.hotstufffoods.com) has acquired Lettieri'sInc. (www.lettieris.com ), a manufacturer of ready-made food products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said the acquisition is being funded by Hot Stuff management, Lettieri's management and Allied Capital Corp. The addition of Lettieri's extends the company's reach to more than 40,000 additional [...]
VeraSun Energy Corp., the nation's second-largest ethanol producer, announced two additions to its management team. Bob Antoine willmove into his new role as senior vice president ofhuman resources, bringing more than 25 years ofexperience to the position. Peter Atkins alsojoins VeraSun as the new vice president of mergers and acquisitions. He will be responsible for [...]
When examining short- and long-term funding options, experts stress the importance of due diligence. In the summer of 2005, Meridian, Miss.-based DeweeseEnterprises Inc., owner-operator of the Super Stop! convenience store chain, completed a $30 million deal that significantly improved the company’s bottom line. Deweese sold 24Super Stop locations in Mississippi to Realty Income Corp., aNew [...]
As foodservice flourishes, Open Pantry is getting its “fare share” by serving up authentic ethnic dishes. Anyone can throw a littleTabasco sauce in meat, wrap itin a tortilla and say they have a Mexican program. It’s another thing tocull an offer after trekking theSouthwest to find the real deal inauthentic flavors and ingredients, whichis exactly [...]
In the battle to be the first to market with new products,retailers face fierce competition from other industryoperators and cross-channel marketers. Despite the battle for that share of wallet, chains have come to depend ontheir distributors and wholesalers for the information theyneed to make smart business choices. What is important for convenience store owners toremember [...]
“New” is a tricky term when it comes to productions in the convenience channel. Tjere are few actual unique product launches along the lines of Red Bull anymore. The majority of new products comes in the form of line extensions of already popular products. While line extensions help to create a buzz in the marketplace, [...]
Category is the only tobacco segment to record year-on-year spikes since 2002. The moist smokeless tobacco(MST) category is the only growingtobacco category, and has been increasing at 4-6% per year consistentlysince 2002. Over the past few years, theMST category has developed three distincttiers (See Figure 1). Tier one (premium)accounts for more than 59% of MST [...]
Combining both top-of-the-line technology and in-depth training, Circle K is taking strong steps in the field of cash management. Cash management and securityare essential components of anyc-store operation. Retail venues of all types run high risks of robbery—from both internal and externalsources—but c-stores face a higher riskdue to the inherent nature of the business. For [...]
New product trends come and goalmost weekly in the conveniencestore industry, but few trends in the last two decades have had the stayingpower of bottled water. Thanks to new twists on the bottledwater segment, such as the introduction offruit flavors and innovative packaging, bottled water sales continue to post some ofthe strongest sales numbers in [...]