Cigarettes continue to be the top in-store category based on sales dollars. On a monthly basis, the industry per store average over the past year was $39,127. However, its gross profit contribution slipped to 3.2% to $6,152 falling behind package beverages ($6,526), according to the National Association of Convenience Stores State of the Industry report. [...]
When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise. There’s no doubt we’re trudging through some tough times—it’s been this way for at least the past year. And there’s certainly no “crystal ball” to tell us when it’ll all be over. We might pull out of this down cycle sooner [...]
Not surprisingly, convenience store industry operators identified the future of tobacco as one of their top five concerns heading into 2010. And with good reason. Operators have entered a period of unprecedented challenges when it comes to selling cigarettes, which means they must find new and innovative ways to market and merchandise this essential product [...]
Consumers have shifted their pizza-ordering habits, cutting back on weekdays but ordering more often on weekends, Technomic Information Services found earlier this year. In 2006, Technomic found that 35% of consumers indicated that they would primarily order pizza for dinner during the week, and just over a quarter (28%) typically ordered pizza for dinner during [...]
An instant video-rental concept is moving into a leading c-store chain after storming the grocery channel. Redbox is spreading into 7-Eleven stores nationwide as it continues its focus on the c-store market. Starting this month and continuing through next year, Redbox will be installing its DVD rental machines into 2,600 7-Eleven locations nationwide, boosting its [...]
If you’re driving north or south along a crooked road just inside Maine’s Atlantic coast, you’re eating up New England’s northernmost scenery on Interstate 95. Trucking southbound through the state’s southern belly, you might stop off for gas in the town of Waterville and find J&S Oil’s Xpress Stop Service Station sitting just off the [...]
There are few sure things in business. But partnering with an established foodservice brand could be about as close as one can get. That’s because proven concepts offer so much, such as built-in brand equity, customer loyalty, honed or even turnkey systems with shorter learning curves, proven menus and recipes, pre-existing designs and equipment packages [...]
BP North America has teamed with two wireless networking firms to pilot a souped-up version of Wi-Fi at 50 stores nationwide, all in hopes of adding more value to the customer experience. “We’re very interested in what the customer reaction will be,” said BP spokesman Scott Dean. “We have high hopes for this.” BP turned [...]
My, how the roller grill continues to evolve. No longer visited exclusively by customers hungry for a hot dog, roller grills now boast a growing variety of ethnic foods nationwide, featuring everything from Mexican tortas to pork-filled Chinese steamed buns to breadsticks stuffed with jalapeno peppers and cheese. “We brought egg rolls and tornados into [...]
Growing up during the Great Depression, Bob Seng learned to appreciate hard work, dedication and the value of an honest day’s work. It was those principles that guided him during his nearly 20-year career at Shell Oil, which began 60 years ago in 1949. For Seng, now a spry 85 years young, the experience at [...]