TOP PERFORMERS Altria Sales & Distribution (Philip Morris USA) R. J. Reynolds Lorillard HONORABLE MENTIONS Liggett Vector Natural American Spirit/Santa Fe (Reynolds American) Commonwealth Brands Despite the wild nine-month ride that saw a large federal tax increase and the Food & Drug Administration gain control over the category, cigarettes continue to dominate in-store sales, accounting [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Oreo (Nabisco/Kraft) Kellogg’s/Keebler Chips Ahoy (Nabisco/Kraft) HONORABLE MENTIONS Bon Appetit Mrs. Freshley’s (Flowers Foods) Prairie City Bakery Sweet snacks purchases are on the rise at convenience stores creating new sales opportunities across all dayparts. Packaged sweets accounted for 2.6% of the $114,010 stores acquired through average monthly sales in 2008, according to the [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Frito Lay Cheez-It (Kellogg’s) Chex Mix (General Mills) HONORABLE MENTIONS Combos (Mars) Cape Cod (Lance) Pringles (P&G) The down economy has inspired a consumer trend toward eating in and choosing less expensive home-entertainment options, which has been a boost to the salty snacks category. Customers are likely to choose snacks they perceive as [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Slim Jim (ConAgra) Old Wisconsin Sausage HONORABLE MENTIONS Old Trapper Smoked Products World Kitchens Oberto Sausage Flavored products from hot and spicy to teriyaki and smoked are driving the meat snacks category as customers look for new varieties of their favorite snacks. Stick sales are reportedly up, and as [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Hershey’s Mars HONORABLE MENTIONS Nestlé Ghirardelli While the current recession has slowed down sales of everything from cars to organic groceries, people seem happy to keep shelling out for chocolate, and convenience store owners couldn’t happier. Chocolate is one of the more recession-resilient food sectors. With consumers eating out less and eating at [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Wrigley Cadbury Adams Hershey’s HONORABLE MENTIONS Farley & Sathers Just Born Perfetti Van Melle According to the 2009 NACS State of the Industry report (SOI), the confections category in a typical convenience store contributes $44,820 to sales and $21,336 in gross margin dollars, for an average gross margin of 47.6%. Top performers in [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Tyson Brakebush Broaster HONORABLE MENTIONS Chester’s Chicken Krispy Krunchy Pilgrims Pride Chicken’s economical price and inherent flexibility gives convenience store retailers a myriad of opportunities for growing their foodservice business without sacrificing quality and value. More importantly, chicken offers retailers a host of branded and unbranded options for creating everything from a fresh [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Oscar Mayer (Kraft) Ball Park (Sara Lee) Hillshire Farms (Sara Lee) HONORABLE MENTIONS Ruiz Food Products Johnsonville Sausage Don Miguel Roller grills, the backbone of many convenience store foodservice programs, continue to provide chains with an inexpensive, labor-friendly foodservice concept that allows store operators to expand their fresh food offering at a time [...]
TOP PERFORMERS Subway McDonald’s HONORABLE MENTIONS Blimpie Burger King Arby’s Quiznos As foodservice becomes an increasingly important c-store offering for driving traffic, retailers face an important question: Partner with a with a known QSR that offers brand recognition and a proven track record, or invest the time and energy to build a program from the [...]
As foodservice sales make up for lost gasoline and cigarette profits, more retailers are jumping on the pizza bandwagon. It’s a wise move considering Americans love their pizza. According to Parade magazine, 94% of the U.S. population eats pizza; Pizzaware.com noted that Americans eat about 100 acres of pizza each day (350 slices per second); [...]
Nearly 100 convenience store chains representing some 23,000 convenience stores nationwide came together to identify the key suppliers in two dozen in-store categories as part of Convenience Store Decisions’ 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards. This study was designed and conducted by Hagen Marketing Research Inc. in cooperation with CSD. The primary purpose of the study was [...]
The 2009 EDGE Report published by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder, offers a great overview of the job market today and what it looks like in the near future. The survey was conducted in the second quarter of 2009 and the results are based on the responses of 500 hiring managers and 500 workers age [...]
1. Not Knowing What You’re Looking For. You can’t hit the target when you don’t know what it looks like. Define what you’re looking for by writing a job analysis that spells out the mental and physical capacities, attitudes, personality and skills you need. 2. Not Thinking Outside the Box. One overlooked source of candidates [...]
In order to support the convenience store industry’s forecasting and planning responsibilities for the new year, Convenience Store Decisions and Kleiman HR collaborated on their second annual human resources survey in order to provide some industry-wide insight into the actions others are taking—or planning to take—in the new year. The 2010 survey results include some [...]
Heading into 2010 there seems to be one constant in the energy markets—be it international, domestic, or local—and that is supplies should not be the issue in the New Year. This means that while demand will ebb and flow as it is want to do over the course of the calendar, barring an unforeseen change, [...]