A smaller footprint version of Wal-Mart is soon to give c-stores extra competition. Wal-Mart has begun construction on the first of its Wal-Mart Express stores, which are expected to average less than a tenth of the size of an average Wal-Mart Supercenter, Business Review USA reported. On March 16, construction is planned on a 14,400 [...]
As competition increases from drug stores, fast-food restaurants and coffeehouse, communicating a clear branding strategy is timely and vital. The forecourt is more important than ever, especially as gas prices are rising at a fast clip. Fewer trips mean fewer opportunities to market through the forecourt, so retailers must use every strategy to drive store [...]
Like all Dean’s cigars and pipe tobaccos, Dean’s new Heavy Weights cigars, a product of M & R Holdings, contain only the highest-quality tobacco. Heavy Weights are the same size as the company’s 2003 release—its 100mm Dean’s Large Cigars—containing slow-burning, air-cured burley filler and 100% homogenized tobacco wrapper. Both filter-tipped cigar brands come in nine [...]
Amid the chaos of legislation and taxation, convenience store retailers remain optimistic they can retain OTP customers and even pick up some new ones trading down from cigarettes. By: Joe Bush, Contributing Editor. Not much been predictable about the tobacco category over the past 18 months. Huge taxes increases have renewed questions about just how [...]
The We Card Program offers seven steps c-store retailers need to take right now. By: Doug Anderson, President, The We Card Program. Before FDA regulations took effect, it was enough to prevent an underage tobacco sale. The question, “Is this customer old enough to buy tobacco?” ruled the day. That way of thinking falls short [...]
Few activities in the workplace polarize like employee reviews. Some see them as subjective, one-sided and something companies should eliminate entirely. By Mel Kleiman, Contributing Editor. I despise performance reviews. In my 30-plus years of running a business, speaking and consulting, I’ve found that my personal distaste for performance reviews is shared by so many [...]
Cattlemen’s Master Reserve BBQ Sauces understands the challenges operators face daily and works to help solve those problems through real business solutions, including merchandising kits, training videos, recipes and rebates. Because these challenges are getting tougher, Cattlemen’s is giving up to $10 back on every case of Cattlemen’s barbecue sauce purchased through April 15. The [...]
“We are pleased to announce this sale in our continued progress in exiting the car wash business,” says Mace CEO. Horsham, Pa.-based Mace Security International Inc. has sold a full-service car wash facility and convenience store located in Lubbock, Texas. With the sale of its Lubbock location, the corporation currently has two remaining car washes [...]
EVOL Burritos, maker of made-from-scratch, natural and organic frozen burritos, announced rapid growth in foodservice sales just months after launching a new line of deli-wrap burritos and hiring former PepsiCo director, Darin Gruenhaupt, as director of foodservice and convenience store sales. The burritos, which can be sold fresh or hot off the shelf, are available [...]
“Manitowoc Foodservice is producing and promoting energy-efficient ENERGY STAR products that help American consumers join in the effort to increase our nation’s energy efficiency,” says EPA Spokesperson. For the second consecutive year, the (EPA) has named Manitowoc Foodservice as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by [...]
As gas prices increase, customers are paying more attention to the price at the pump and are quick to report concerns, the National Conference on Weights and Measures reports. As fuel prices rise, so do the number of consumer complaints at the gas pump, according to a recent survey of state weights and measures, where [...]
Wholesale gasoline costs were mixed through the week-ending Monday (3/14), with prices in the West Coast bucking lower markets in most parts of the U.S. as California transitions to summer grade gasoline with a lower Reid Vapor Pressure reading. Retail prices will continue to advance on the updraft from previous spiking wholesale values triggered by [...]
“As we look to the year ahead, we remain focused on the expansion of our retail footprint through new store construction,” says CEO. Delek US Holdings Inc., a diversified energy company with assets in the petroleum refining, marketing and retail industries, has released the financial results for its fourth quarter and full-year 2010. “During 2010, [...]
Gas station customers can look forward to cents-per-gallon fuel discounts at participating Shell stations nation-wide. Shell and Excentus, a provider of marketing programs and services using cents-per-gallon fuel discounts as the ultimate consumer reward, have announced the nationwide expansion of their alliance through an exclusive, long-term strategic deal. The relationship between Shell and Excentus aims [...]
Is your image suffering from market fatigue? Could your stores use a face lift? Are you looking for a marketing edge that will reinvigorate your retail brand? Then it’s time to enter C-Store Futurecast 2011, Convenience Store Decisions’ Extreme Marketing Makeover contest. CSD has joined forces with Convevo Partners and Integrate to offer one contest [...]