Quick Chek Food Stores, the Whitehouse, N.J. chain of more than 100 stores throughout New Jersey and New York, launched a new brand positioning complete with logo, private-label product packaging and enhanced Web site. With its new logo in the shape of a bright, lime green-colored letter "Q" with tail shaped like a dark green…
NACS SOI Reveals Mixed Results
Convenience store industry sales reached a new high of $577.4 billion in 2007, but profits dropped by $1.4 billion, largely because of higher credit card fees, the 2008 NACS State of the Industry report found. Overall, industry revenues climbed only 1.4%, leveling off an extraordinary decade of growth that saw industry revenue grow more than…
A Call to Arms
Richard Oneslager enjoys a good joke, so he couldn’t help sharing one of his new favorites. "Did you hear the one about the retailer who sat down with Visa to discuss his interchange fees? Of course you didn’t. Visa doesn’t sit down with retailers!" Oneslager, president of Balmar Petroleum and chairman of the National Association…
Banking on Big Branding
When it came to choosing between a bank and quick-service restaurant to complement a Tom’s Convenience Store in a travel plaza just outside State College, Pa., Tom’s parent company, Shipley Energy, placed its money where the mouths are. It’s a decision that could pay big dividends for York, Pa.-based Shipley Energy, owner and operator of…
Mixed First Quarter Results for Sunoco
Not every oil company is enjoying windfall profits in the era of expensive oil. Sunoco Inc., which refines oil it buys from producers, today reported a net loss of $59 million on sales of $12.8 billion for the first quarter of the year. Sunoco earned $175 million on sales of $9.3 billion in the first…
Kum & Go Names New Vice President
Kum & Go, operator of more than 430 convenience stores in 12 states, named Terry Montgomery its new vice president of business intelligence. In this newly created position, Montgomery’s main focuses will be developing the new Kum & Go Business Intelligence department and the expansion and growth of business intelligence function for the West Des…
Mars, Wrigley Meld $23-Billion Merger
Mars Inc., of McLean, Va., announced a merger agreement with Chicago-based Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a transaction that could ultimately be valued at $23 billion, the companies said. The agreement will make Wrigley, a $5.4 billion gum and confections company, a separate, stand-alone subsidiary of Mars. The agreement has been unanimously approved by both companies’…
Prayer, Refunds And Theft
Truckers in Mississippi are stealing diesel by the hundreds of gallons, lawmakers in Florida are floating plans to offer commuters a gas-money refund and religious folks in California are resorting to prayer at the pump. Motorists nationwide are resorting to everything and anything to fight gas prices that continue to set record highs, with the…
Sheetz Opens Near Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sheetz Inc. has opened a new unit in Davidson County in North Carolina just outside Winston-Salem, the company said. The opening is the 17th for Sheetz in North Carolina and brings the company’s overall store count to 348. Sheetz employees will hold a grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 8 at the store.…
BP, Shell Post Record Profits
BP has posted an eight-year high in profit while Royal Dutch Shell Plc had its biggest gain since 2005, Bloomberg news reported. Analysts said numbers posted by the oil giants were grand across the board, despite high crude prices. Crude oil reached $111.80 a barrel in March, and also touched an all-time high of $119.93…