The York, Pa-basedcompany replaced the vice president position with a director of human resources.Schultz will be responsible for overseeing theentire human resources department, including employee benefits, policies and payroll.She will also oversee hiring new employeesfor rutter’s 51 convenience stores in centralPennsylvania. Potential hires can apply forretail positions at any store or through thecompany Web site. [...]
Every year, thousands of employers fail to claim their fair share of the billions of dollars in government tax credits and incentive programs set aside for them. If you’ve never claimed yours, then the question is: “Why?” Maybe you just didn’t know about these federal and state programs designed to encourage employers to hire members [...]
Gas continues to fuel hypermart growth. An interesting study wasrecently published by researchers in the Department ofEconomics at the Universityof Arizona that details the impact HomeDepot’s entry into the fuel business had onthe Nashville, Tenn., market. The study found that hypermarts “do,in fact, place statistically significant andeconomically significant downward pressure on the prices of nearby [...]
Open-air coolers coupled with some creativity are helping retailers make the most out of limited workspace. When the average customer walks into aconvenience store—or any retail operation forthat matter—items and prices need to forma marriage of value to motivate them to buy, regardless of the purchase. This can be difficult given the limited space available [...]
A comprehensive new study by Meyers Research Center (MRC) finds that convenience store shoppers are seeking cold beverages, friendly employees and know what they want before they get through the door. The findings are part of Meyers’ Convenience Store Close-Up Wave Six, which takes a look at behavior, attitudes and decision-making patterns of c-store shoppers [...]
Between lighting, refrigeration and heating and air conditioning, retailersuse an average of 62 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, accordingto the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Coupled with the skyrocketingprice of natural gas and historically high summer demands, electric costs takean even larger bite of c-store owners’ operational costs. Most chains have already implemented the [...]
Minimizing risk is key to maximizing fuel profitability. The post-Hurricane Katrina era is presenting a flood of challenges for uneasy marketers at the most inopportune time. Competition from multiple retail channels has never been greater, credit card fees are eating away store profits and fuel supply is being called into question forcing pump prices to [...]
Carwash dollars compensate for shrinking gas profits. Remember when convenience stores and gas stations used to give a free carwash with the purchase of a full tank of gas? Now, shrinking fuel margins are causing an increasing number of store operators to look to carwash sales to boost the bottom line. According to the International [...]
CSD February '06 Issue Cover Story/Main Feature: Industry RetrospectiveThe Past, Present and Future of C-Store Retailing: A close look at the key issues that shaped the industry over the past 10 years. This story will analyze four key areas: The tobacco MSA, state and federal tax increases and the infringement of Internet/Native American cigarette sales. [...]
Pilot Travel Centers adapts to its growth by streamlining its payroll and human resources systems. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. As Pilot Travel Centers grew to 50 c-stores and 262 travel centers in 40 states with 14,000 employees, it became imperative for the company to streamline its payroll and human resources processes. Explosive [...]
Reclaiming water helps car wash operators cut costs substantially and reinforce their reputation as being good neighbors. By Bill Donahue, Editor Last summer, as a cameraman was setting up his tripod at a car wash/convenience store in the Las Vegas area, Jon Athey knew it probably wasn’t a positive development. There, an associate producer for [...]
New technology convinces Town & Country and WESCO Inc. that slashing losses can be just as profitable as growing sales. About three years ago, WESCO Inc. (Muskegon, MI) implemented its "Churn Busters" program as a means of slashing turnover. The savings gained from the program—the company reduced its turnover by 50% in just one year— [...]