Archive for 2010
The Future of Cigarette Retailing
With graphic new warning labels destined for individual packages and higher tobacco prices, retailers are facing a harsh new reality. On November 10, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled 36 graphic warning label images, one of which will be selected to go on every cigarette package no later than Sept. 22, 2012. [...]
Chicken Fuels Foodservice Flexibility
Whether it’s grilled, baked or fried, poultry meal solutions are available in a variety of dishes that are helping operators create a diverse menu. Chicken has a “health HALO,” in the foodservice industry’s parlance, meaning consumers perceive it to be a healthy alternative to burgers and pizza. Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst for The NPD [...]
Endless Pizza Opportunities
Whether going with a branded option or developing a proprietary menu, pizza appeals to a wide variety of pallets. There will always be a market for pizza. Customers love it. It’s fast, fresh and convenient—everything that helps make convenience stores a top option for on-the-go foodservice. However, choosing a branded pizza partner means balancing a [...]
Roller Grills Growing Up
Thanks to a surge of new products focused on ethnic diversity, the roller grill is hotter than ever before. There has been so much emphasis on fresh, made-to-order food and upscale coffee programs in the convenience store industry it’s easy to forget the tried-and-true roller grill. Sometimes implicated as part of the industry’s food-image problem—burned [...]
Defend Your Hot Beverage Business
Tips for protecting sales and profits in today’s climate. Intensifying competition for the morning daypart and escalating commodity costs for coffee drinks have forced convenience retailers to make trade-offs between pricing and profits. This is no small issue as hot dispensed beverages are strategically vital to a retailer’s morning business segment and fresh foods program. [...]
Attacking Shrink from All Angles
Loss prevention in retail is becoming a more challenging task as the economy stumbles along. In order to keep costs down it is important to put measures into place that will deter thieves. In a tough economy, every dollar counts. But loss prevention is often overlooked by convenience stores, even when following through on upholding [...]
Effectively Managing Scan Data
Before executives at The Spinx Co. roll out a sales promotion to their 75-plus convenience stores in the Carolinas, they carefully review current point-of-sale (POS) sales data. “We’re able to pull all sorts of data by store, by category and by items,” said Bryan Zeiger, category manager for Spinx, who relies on the reports when [...]
Marketing and Social Media
In 2011, look for cause marketing to be a bigger trend. An expert panel at the U.S. Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) annual meeting revealed that the trend toward cause marketing is the next step in engaging customers and increasing loyalty. But it’s not enough just to pick a cause and throw together a promotion. Customers [...]
Emerging Retail Trends
Convenience store owners should expect to embrace new technology and a fresh set of rules for communicating with today’s consumers as 2011 approaches. A year that witnessed a whirlwind of technological advancements proved that retail is all about change. The best retailers are embracing that change and diversifying their technology investments in order to stay [...]
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Convenience store operators must take the time to observe how their competitors are marketing tobacco. In most of the presentations I have given over the past few years, I challenge my participants to take the time to understand how their business is doing, but to also make sure to check on the competition. After all, [...]
Meeting the Demand for Convenience
Even during the holiday season customers expect their local c-store not only to be open, but to meet their diverse needs. Every year during the holidays I have cashiers tell me that customers ask them why our stores are open on days like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Customers often remark, “It’s a [...]
Raising the Bar on Automotive Accessories
Car care merchandise is delivering incremental sales with the help of private labels and impulse purchases. Customers have long ventured into local convenience stores to grab a bottle of windshield washer fluid or oil for their cars. Years ago, a small display would hold a few bottles of automotive fluids in case of an emergency. [...]
Networking at the NAG Ideas Conference
David Johnson named group chairman as the National Advisory Group concludes its 2010 meeting focused on building profits and relationships. The National Advisory Group’s (NAG) 2010 Ideas Conference wrapped up in Charleston, S.C., offering convenience store owners a much better understanding of the issues facing small and mid-sized businesses and family-owned companies. Whether it’s dealing [...]
Discount Tobacco City Takes on the FDA
When a number of major tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Conwood Co. LLC, Commonwealth Brands Inc., Lorillard Inc. and National Tobacco Co., decided to take on the federal government’s ban on tobacco advertising, they were looking for one retailer to step up and join the fight. They got their wish when Frank Hinton, [...]
Tracking the Trends
While the convenience store industry is in a much better position to withstand the strains of the current economic recession, one thing is painfully clear. Customers are changing the way they buy goods and services and retailers must keep up with those changes to avoid becoming obsolete. A new generation of Millennials, those born between [...]
