San Diego State University At a Glance San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897, is the fifth-largest university in California with a student body of approximately 38,000 full- and part-time students. Its retail arm, Aztec Shops Ltd., was founded in 1932 as a not-for-profit corporation that functions primarily as an auxiliary of the university.…
Dealers Making a Difference
Pride, hard work and HOPE. These are the three principles that drive Levent Sertbas every day. As president of Sertbas Inc. in Paramus, N.J., Sertbas has had to deal with a number of concerns while operating his two New Jersey On the Run convenience stores, but the two most pressing issues he’s been dealing with…
Demand Grows for Juices and Teas
Tea Truths The U.S. is the birthplace of iced tea. More than 80% of tea consumed here is still sold as an iced drink. Tea sales in the U.S. are expected to exceed a phenomenal $10 billion in 2010 for both beverage and non-beverage categories, according to Worldteaexpo.com In the U.S., 37% of consumers prefer…
Chevron Shines at Business Summit
Instead of its usual three-day convention, Chevron hosted a two-day business summit for its franchisee and company owned businesses last month, to discuss the state of the economy and best practices for flourishing in hard times. Key economists spoke on the state of the industry, alternative energy, climate change and the future of fossil fuels.…
The Pantry Inc. Acquires 38 C-stores
The Pantry Inc., Sanford, N.C., an independently operated c-store chain in the Southeast, announced Tuesday that it had acquired 38 convenience stores from Herndon Oil Corp., using cash in hand, according to RTT News. When plans for the acquisition were announced previously, the agreement included 40 stores, but in the meantime, one has…
Consumers Embrace Self-Service Technology
C-store owners know North American consumers are continuing to embrace self-service technology, but a recent study is showing just how popular they’ve become. Transactions at self-service kiosks are expected to surpass $775 billion in 2009, and could increase to more than $1.6 trillion by 2013, according to a new research study conducted by…
Serve Freezer-to-Oven Fresh Baked Bread
Rich Products Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., has created the industry’s first line of fresh bread that can be taken directly from the freezer and baked in the oven, eliminating the time-consuming preparing and “proofing” process otherwise necessary to make freshly baked bread. Rich’s proprietary Fresh ‘n Ready Classic Sandwich Breads, developed over five years…
Private Label Popularity Grows
New consumer polling data shows the majority of U.S. supermarket shoppers will continue purchasing store brand products even after the recession has come to an end. A poll conducted this month by GfK Custom Research North America for the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), found 91% of shoppers plan to continue buying…
BP Closes Door on Alternative Energy
After more than 10 years of working toward a carbon-constrained solutions, BP has shut its alternative energy headquarters in London, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. BP spokesman David Nicholas told London’s Guardian about 80 staff members in the company’s alternative energy division would be relocated to the corporate head office, and spending on…
Data Security Standards: Are You Prepared?
PCI compliance deadlines continue to barrel toward the convenience store industry, yet many operators are still not up to speed on precisely what they need to do, or how to do it. The Payment Card Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), developed by the PCI Security Standards Council and endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services,…