Retailers may be on the front lines every day, but the presence of their supplier partners is palpable. It can be seen and felt in the marketing and merchandising found at the store level and in the intricate planograms category managers use to set their stores. To get a better feel for the supplier companies [...]
On a recent tour of convenience stores in the Northeast, I came across an outstanding Mobil store in northern Maine. What caught my attention at this particular store was the clerk who immediately greeted me and told me about the store’s foodservice special that day, a homemade Boston chowder. That I was greeted was not [...]
I’m not much a movie buff, but to prepare for the Super Bowl I set aside a couple of hours to enjoy a big screen classic: Rudy. I’m sure you all know the story of Rudy Ruettiger whose persistence and hard work elevated him to legendary status at Notre Dame. It’s the perfect sports movie [...]
I’d like to begin this month by saying I hope each and every one of you had a happy and healthy holiday season. It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for us at here at Convenience Store Decisions so I want to take a few minutes to give you all a personal update on the [...]
“In a business like cigars, where unit volume is growing 10% plus year-over-year, emerging strategic thinking in convenience retail suggests that retailers can grow even faster by employing a “price-for-volume” strategy for key products.” David Bishop, partner, Willard Bishop This summer, we examined how convenience retailers could manage the cigar category differently to realize above-market [...]
“HOW FAR YOU GO in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.” That quote from American educator and researcher George Washington Carver has always had special meaning [...]
Despite record sales and a growing number of stores that serve as destinations for millions and millions of American consumers everyday, other retail segments continue to take cheap shots at convenience store owners and operators. Need proof? Did you happen to catch the NapaAuto Parts commercial during the Major LeagueBaseball playoffs? “Experience,” the announcer says,“that’s [...]
This is an exciting issue for Convenience StoreDecisions as we unveil our inaugural Power 25, alist of industry pioneers, association executives andlawmakers that are shaping the way the conveniencestore and petroleum industry operates. The Power 25 is an impressive honor because theexecutives and the companies they represent wereselected directly by the hardworking professionals thatmake this [...]
There are many common characteristics of excellence, but none more important than giving your very best at everything you do. Take Geo. H. Green Oil in Fairburn, Ga., for instance. Last month, GreenOil’s Director of Marketing Jim Callahan launched achain-wide sting operation to see how employees weredoing selling age-restricted products, specifically, alcohol, tobacco and lottery [...]
If there is one thing that can be said aboutConvenience Store Decisions' 2007 FoodserviceShow it's that a great time was had by all. The educational sessions, which featured David Bishop, ofWillard Bishop; Marsha Robbins, of HAACPlus.com;John Matthews, of Gray Cat Enterprises; and MelKleiman, of Humetrics Inc., touched on many of the keypoints retailers needed to [...]
Convenience stores are now majorplayers in the foodservice business. In a fewshort years, the industry has shattered many of the perception problems that marked its initial forayinto the food business and, if anything, it is driving thecharge toward convenient, fresher foods. Chains like Sheetz, Nice N Easy, Wawa andQuikTrip are all among the innovators being [...]
Patience doesn't come easy, but it can haveits rewards. Nowhere is that more evident thanby observing the foodservice programs at Exxon Mobil Corp. and Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes. Bothchains have refined their food segments over severalyears to come up with the right menu to meet the needsof core customers, and that's why Convenience StoreDecisions [...]
Many companies profess to be all about their customers and employees. Spend anytime at QuikTrip, the subject of this month's cover story, and you'll see its devotion to these two vital retail components is sincere and palpable. I was fortunate enough to spend a day last monthat QuikTrip's headquarters with Mike Thornbrugh, public and governmental [...]
Finding the right supplier partners is crucial to convenience store retailers that is only enhanced in this era ofultra competitiveness. That's why Convenience Store Decisions set out to identify the suppliers and manufacturersretailers say are doing the best job meeting their needs as partof our second annual Reader's Choice Awards. The awards are based on [...]
If there is one thing I have learned to become good at inmy personal life and my career it's learning from mymistakes. In one of my recent hockey games, trailinglate in the third period 3-1, I was able to score off a faceoff—a pretty backhand shot off the crossbar—to narrow thedeficit to 3-2. A few [...]