Overall retail sales are slowing at mass, dollar and grocery stores, but confectionery sales remain strong for convenience operators. The U.S. retail confectionery category generated approximately $29 billion in sales in 2007 and the profit margin for the category was approximately 35%, according to the National Confectioners Association’s (NCA) U.S. Confectionery Market report released last…

Jim Hertel, the senior vice president of retail consultant Willard Bishop, spotlights international retailer Tesco PLC’s Fresh & Easy concept, which at presstime had been rolled into eight stores in Phoenix, with 26 more planned. Hertel noted that Tesco’s use of private label brands "turns a lot of conventional wisdom upside down. Many food retailers…

More. That’s what convenience store customers can expect to see of private-label brands–and what convenience store operators need to do in order to make those brands successful. The costs are too low, opportunities to build brand equity and loyalty too high, quality is rising too quickly and the benefits are too numerous for retailers with…

At a time of year when people are focused on health and fitness, 7-Eleven Inc. is adding three more sensible snacks for the “on-the-go” crowd–Weight Watchers snack cakes and muffins, LARABAR all-natural raw food bars and, in March, its own proprietary MEGA protein bars. Approximately half of all Americans entered 2008 resolved to do something:…

Driving business with new products is hardly a novel idea, but it’s also one that convenience store retailers rarely use to their advantage, said David Bishop, a partner with research and consulting firm Willard Bishop in Barrington, Ill. When retailers actively participate in the process of bringing a new product to the marketplace by helping…

Anyone who’s been in the industry as long as Dennis Lane is more than supremely qualified to help other retailers cope successfully with the changing c-store landscape. Lane—who was elected last November to head the 2,000-member National Coalition of 7-Eleven Franchise Owners Association after serving for the past several years as vice chair of merchandising…

Between Black Friday, Green Monday and Red Alert ("Oh my gosh, I’m out of time!) Christmas Eve, millions of American shoppers realize their days… and dollars are numbered. Heading into the homestretch, time is at a premium and every convenience helps. Enter 7-Eleven. Created 80 years ago as a quick in-and-out shopping alternative for time-crunched…

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. said it has selected Ryan Partnership as an additional consumer promotions agency, joining GMR Marketing, in now providing creative event marketing and promotional support for the company’s brands in the U.S. The decision comes after a comprehensive agency review by Wrigley to determine its optimum U.S. consumer promotions agency resource…

Candy sales jumping with Halloween fast approaching. Halloween is fast approaching, bringing with it plenty of costume-clad consumers looking for candy. According to The Nielsen Company, U.S. consumers are expected to purchase more than $2.1 billion in candy this Halloween season. The holiday generates the greatest sales volume of sweets for the entire year, with…

The category isbooming with demandfrom health-conscious adult consumersthat are seeking out sugarless gums andmints, while high-ring novelty items aredrawing in kids. This demand is a welcomed addition.The confectionery category is one of themost profitable in c-stores. According to aJuly 2007 Information Resources Inc. (IRI)report, convenience stores have shown a7.8% increase in the confectionery category over…