“With her deep understanding of retail and consumer trends, her love of our industry and her strategic communications background, Ellen is the perfect candidate to re-imagine the possibilities for our Foundation,” says NRF CEO. The National Retail Federation announced today that Ellen Davis has been named senior vice president and executive director of the NRF…
Prepaid Provides Incremental Sales Opportunities
Mercator Advisory Group’s Prepaid Market Forecast 2011-2014 expects prepaid market growth to slow over the next four years as regulatory and economic issues, as well as saturation in segments including unemployment, impact the market. Open-loop loads are expected to total $281.7 billion in 2013, down $139.4 billion from last year’s forecast of $421.1 billion. “I…
Emerging Opportunities for HBC
Retailers have come to accept that the health and beauty category (HBC) could never compete with tobacco or foodservice in terms of profits or volume, but it serves an important purpose for convenience store customers. For that reason alone, a diverse offering of cold medicines and personal hygiene products should be a staple on convenience…
Strong Year for Meat Snacks
Meat snack manufacturers are targeting new customers with innovative flavors, new packaging and an attractive price point. Leading the charge to meet the changing needs of the consumer is Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, which markets dozens of popular meat snack varieties under the Jack Link’s and MATADOR brands. Overall, meat snack sales soared 10.3% to…
E-Cigarettes Are Here to Stay
Until recently, e-cigs have been sold through traditional tobacco stores that normally expect a keystone or 100% markup on items other than cigarettes. Though it is hard to determine the number of e-cig users in the U.S., the National Vapers Club estimated that about a million people used e-cigs last year, so it certainly is…
Coffee Driving Foodservice Sales
Convenience stores are expanding their brew programs and condiment offerings, allowing guests to customize each cup. Most c-stores have embraced the consumer’s desire for customization by offering broad coffee and condiment selections and stations for customers to prep their cups the way they like. C-stores are improving coffee quality in line with greater demand for…
Forecasting Bakery Trends
Ready to hear some good economic news? Bakery is one category showing improved sales this year. Supermarket in-store bakery sales reached $10.4 billion for the 52-weeks ended December, 2011, a 2.2% increase over the same period last year, according to the Perishables Group. The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA) recently released this data and other in-store…
Poultry Booming in C-Stores Despite Supply Concerns
The Washington, DC-based National Chicken Council forecasts that while production of this convenience store menu mainstay will drop by 1.7%, prices will be going up. “This is only the fourth time in five decades that production has gone down,” said Bill Roenigk, senior vice president and chief economist for the National Chicken Council. We are…
Johnsonville Launches C-Store Website
“The Johnsonville C-Store Website will provide practical business benefits to our c-store foodservice end-users,” says Johnsonville spokesperson. Johnsonville Sausage has introduced a new website that offers extensive tools and resources to help c-store foodservice operators run their businesses and increase profitability. “Our Website is designed to provide a one-stop information resource for our c-store end-users…
7-Eleven Returns to Jacksonville
After 25 years, 7-Eleven is set to once again operate stores in the Jacksonville area. 7-Eleven officials announced this morning that it plans to open 80 new stores in the Jacksonville, Fla. area by 2015, which the company said will mean 800 new jobs, First Coast News Online reported. 7-Eleven representatives, along with Governor Rick Scott and…