Cigarette tax increases in Oregon and Tennessee. Oregon and Tennessee state lawmakers are combating the proposed rate increases on cigarette taxes. Oregon House Republicans are raising questions about using a state cigarette tax to pay for children’s health insurance. In response, Oregon Senate Democrats are turning to voters and proposing a ballot measure under which [...]
Six stores located adjacent to Wal-Mart get the axe. Murphy USA will be closing 47 gas stations, six of which are located near Wal-Mart stores in Iowa. The stores to be shut down include the Waverly, Independence, Marshalltown, Anamosa, Grinnell and Le Mars locations, according to the Associated Press. The company entered an agreement April [...]
Two assistant managers claim the chain owes them for unpaid overtime. Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores Inc. was named in a federal lawsuit with two assistant managers claimed the company refused to pay them overtime. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, seeks class-action status to compensate anyone who worked as an [...]
Conn replaces Manzoni as chief executive of refining and marketing. BP has appointed Iain Conn has been appointed chief executive of the company’s refining and marketing business starting June 1, 2007. He replaces John Manzoni who is leaving BP after 24 years’ service. Manzoni has agreed with the board that, following a three-month handover period, [...]
New partnership with Texas A&M extends research on cellulose conversion. Chevron Corp. and the Texas AM Agriculture and Engineering BioEnergy Alliance have entered a research agreement to accelerate the production and conversion of crops for manufacturing ethanol and other biofuels from cellulose. Chevron unit Chevron Technology Ventures will support research initiatives over a four-year period [...]
FTC loses lengthy court battle to prevent the refining merger, plans appeal. After a long court battle, Western Refining Inc. won approval of its $1.13 billion purchase of Giant Industries Inc. after a U.S. judge denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) claim that the merger would increase gasoline prices in New Mexico. U.S. District Judge [...]
Chain teams with DriveCam to offer incentives to precautious teen drivers. Kwik Trip Inc. has teamed up with DriveCam, a driver risk management company, to reward teens in Minnesota and Wisconsin who are enrolled in the Teen Safe Driver Program (www.teensafedriver.com). DriveCam developed the Teen Safe Driver Program in conjunction with American Family Insurance to [...]
Gasoline brings in lots of customers and sales, but come with the consequence of paper-thin margins for the retailers who sell it. To offset this, retailers are developing ways to lure in gas-centric customers and turn their interest onto in-store products. In order to do this, more and more retailers are relying on the marketing [...]
Time is running out to register to attend Convenience Store Decisions’ 2007 Foodservice Show, which kicks off June 4 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. CSD’s Food Show is the only foodservice event in the convenience store and petroleum industry targeted directly to retailers and suppliers managing the fast-growing foodservice category. This [...]
Supermarket giant makes changes in product offering. 2007 has been a busy year for Marsh Supermarkets. The Indianapolis-based chain, known well for markets operating under the Marsh, LoBill Foods and O’Malia’s Food Markets banners as well as 148 Village Pantry convenience stores, was purchased by Sun Capitol Partners near the close of 2006. Since switching [...]
Local newspaper awards the chain for top honors second year in a row. Rutter’s doubled its pleasure on its way to finishing first in four categories in the York Sunday News’ 2007 “best of” reader survey. Rutter’s was No. 1 in milk and “deli, sub or sandwich”–two categories it also bested in 2006. In 2007, [...]
Site problems cause the chain to move onto new plans. QuikTrip Corp. has halted plans for a bakery in the St. Louis suburb of Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo., choosing instead to focus efforts on a nearly completed bakery in Belton. The Tulsa, Okla.-based convenience store chain pulled the plug on the $21 million project because of [...]
“High-volume” location unit in Montana rebranded. Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go has added another store to its growing list, according to the Grand Falls (Mont.) Tribune. The new unit, previously an M&H, will bring the chain’s total count to roughly 450 stores in 13 states. The store’s transition came and went without a beat, [...]
Travel center refuses to accept popular credit card for diesel purchases. New signs are hanging from Flying J’s diesel pumps, and they do not bode well for credit card giant Visa. The chain of travel centers announced that starting today it would no longer accept Visa for diesel purchases. The decision came when the chain [...]
Wisconsin operator shutters fuel pumps for 24 hours. A Mequon, Wis. Mobil dealer shutter his gas pumps for 24 hours, hoping to start a movement aimed at convincing oil companies to lower their prices. “Somebody out there is making money at these prices, but not me,” Harvey Pollack, operator of the Towne Market Mobil, told [...]