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…
Peter Sheahan To Speak At NACS Opening Session
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…
Kwik Trip Headquarters Gets Alternative Fuels Station
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,…
Designing a Winning OTP Strategy
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…
Do You Have the Staff You Deserve?
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…
Weighing a Sandwich Strategy
Whether doing it themselves or finding a national partner, convenience store operators are developing food programs with fresh ingredients and quick service. By Heather Henstock, Contributing Editor. Convenience store strategies for sandwich programs are as customizable as the sandwiches themselves. Some opt to develop and prepare sandwich lines in their own commissaries or via made-to-order…
Climbing Gasoline Costs to Push Up U.S. Retail Average
By Brian L. Milne, Refined Fuels Editor, Telvent DTN Wholesale gasoline costs were mostly higher across major metropolitan markets in the United States for a second straight week, which should reverse the decline in retail prices, while fuel issues impacted drivers in Minnesota and North Dakota earlier this month. Kwik Trip said 13 of its…
ATMs and ADA: Are You Compliant?
While the new compliance standards have been on the ATM industry’s radar for many years. Fully understanding the intricacies of the new rules could be an overwhelming task for many storeowners. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. The ATM industry is currently facing the most complicated, but critical challenge it has ever encountered—managing the technical, new…
Kwik Trip Eyes Oshkosh Site for Acquisition
With the Planning Commission’s approval, Kwik Trip now seeks permission from the Oshkosh Common Council. This week Kwik Trip received approval from the Oshkosh Plan Commission to proceed with plans to demolish an existing Lang Oil gas station on West Ninth Avenue in Oshkosh, Wis., and replace it with a new Kwik Trip that would…
Is Big Oil Losing its Drawing Power?
For many, many years the power of the Big Oil brands was indisputable. They owned the refineries, the stations and the credit card networks to boot. While my father was an Exxon dealer and jobber for more than 30 years I distinctly remember seeing Shell and Texaco credit cards lying around the house. In those…