To capture a greater share of the breakfast business, retailers are developing fresh bakery programs extensive enough to make their products destination-worthy in the morning and throughout the day. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor. Few, if any, local supermarkets or mom-and-pops in the Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin market areas where Kwik Trip has its 358 [...]
“Food is the future of (the c-store) industry,” says Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president to The Gazette, an Eastern Iowa newspaper. Food sales accounted for 16.9% of a record $195 billion of in-store sales at convenience stores in 2011, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), which means many c-store chains have been [...]
Democrat Howard Dean and Republican Rick Santorum to debate issues impacting the industry. A political debate between Republican Rick Santorum and Democrat Howard Dean is set for part of the NACS Show closing general session on Oct. 10. “NACS Show attendees will get an insider’s perspective into the political process and what to look for [...]
Convenience store operators are enjoying the growing popularity of smokeless tobacco products, but they are also being forced to keep a wary eye on federal and local regulations. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor Is the smokeless tobacco product category, which includes moist snuff, snus and dissolvables, the lifeboat that convenience store retailers hope it will [...]
On Wed., June 13, Bit9 presented a Webinar titled “Protecting POS Systems: Kwik Trip Inc. Shares Their Experience.” Bit9 stops advanced persistent threats by combining real-time sensors, cloud-based software reputation services, continuous monitoring and trust-based application control and whitelisting—eliminating the risk caused by malicious, illegal and unauthorized software. Managing Data Threats As data relevance grows, [...]
C-store operators with goals to increase their selection of refreshing products this summer should consider f’real products and its new Caramel Chocolate Crunch Milkshake. f’real’s new Caramel Chocolate Crunch taste will only be available through the 2012 year, so this limited edition milkshake might be more appreciated by c-store consumers. The milkshake is currently offered [...]
With so many national brands already well established in the marketplace, c-store retailers have to create a niche of their own by combining quality products and personal service. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor. Before the CENEX convenience store opened in Killdeer, N.D., the only pizzas readily available to the town’s residents were the ones in [...]
Bit9 and Kwik Trip are offering a Webcast to help retailers better protect their businesses from breaches. Some 85% of the breaches that occurred in 2011 involved POS terminals and servers, according to a 2012 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report. Retailers understand the growing challenges they face in securing their POS systems, but many remain [...]
While branded and proprietary foodservice programs get a lot of attention at retail, prepared sandwiches have quietly—and profitably—filled a valuable niche for retailers. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor. Sandwiches and wraps are a $2.7 billion category and sales are expected to remain strong through 2014, according to a 2011 report from foodservice research and marketing [...]
Many convenience store retailers are cognizant of the trend toward healthier foods and are adding better-for-you items to their menus. By John Lofstock, Editor. More salads, fruits and vegetables are finding their way onto convenience store shelves—often for purchase in the morning, or as a late afternoon snack—much to the delight of an increasing number [...]
The prepaid market is booming as retailers begin to capitalize on seasonal opportunities and serving the underbanked. By John Lofstock, Editor. The gift card market is rosy and analysts are poised for another strong year in 2012. In 2011, 80% of consumers planned on buying gift cards for the holiday season, up from 2010, and [...]
Acclaimed global thought leader Peter Sheahan has been named as an Opening General Session speaker for the NACS Show, which takes place Oct. 7-10 in Las Vegas. Sheahan will speak during the NACS Show Opening General Session on Oct. 8. He is founder and CEO of ChangeLabs, a global consultancy that works with some of [...]
The station is set to open in May and will serve Kwik Trip’s LNG- and CNG-powered vehicles, private fleets, and vehicles using multiple or other alternative fuels. A Kwik Trip Inc. Alternative Fuels Station, featuring Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), has been constructed at Kwik Trip’s corporate headquarters in La Crosse, [...]
Convenience stores have evolved from being a destination for cigarettes to a destination for tobacco products as a whole. By Joe Bush, Contributing Editor. It was inevitable that the conversation on convenience store cigar sales would shift eventually from rapid growth to supplier relations, category management and marketing. As cigarette regulations and prices and taxes [...]
QC Mart comes under fire after the chain’s owner launched a contest asking employees to guess which employee would be fired next. By Erin Rigik, Associate Editor. In October, the Iowa Des Moines Register reported on the curious plight of William Ernst, the owner of QC Mart in Bettendorf, Iowa. Faced with employees who were [...]