Even during the holiday season customers expect their local c-store not only to be open, but to meet their diverse needs. Every year during the holidays I have cashiers tell me that customers ask them why our stores are open on days like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Customers often remark, “It’s a…
Raising the Bar on Automotive Accessories
Car care merchandise is delivering incremental sales with the help of private labels and impulse purchases. Customers have long ventured into local convenience stores to grab a bottle of windshield washer fluid or oil for their cars. Years ago, a small display would hold a few bottles of automotive fluids in case of an emergency.…
Networking at the NAG Ideas Conference
David Johnson named group chairman as the National Advisory Group concludes its 2010 meeting focused on building profits and relationships. The National Advisory Group’s (NAG) 2010 Ideas Conference wrapped up in Charleston, S.C., offering convenience store owners a much better understanding of the issues facing small and mid-sized businesses and family-owned companies. Whether it’s dealing…
Discount Tobacco City Takes on the FDA
When a number of major tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Conwood Co. LLC, Commonwealth Brands Inc., Lorillard Inc. and National Tobacco Co., decided to take on the federal government’s ban on tobacco advertising, they were looking for one retailer to step up and join the fight. They got their wish when Frank Hinton,…
Tracking the Trends
While the convenience store industry is in a much better position to withstand the strains of the current economic recession, one thing is painfully clear. Customers are changing the way they buy goods and services and retailers must keep up with those changes to avoid becoming obsolete. A new generation of Millennials, those born between…
California Rolls Out Improved Cigarette Tax Stamp
Improved high-tech tax stamps with a new design will soon be available and affixed to packs of cigarettes sold in California. The Board of Equalization (BOE) has approved the use of the updated stamp to further reduce the trafficking of counterfeit cigarettes and related excise tax evasion in California. The BOE is responsible for the…
Some 1,264 C-Stores Add Purple Stuff
A large number of retailers have added Purple Stuff, a relaxation/focus soda into their 2011 store sets. The retailers joining the Purple Stuff family in January 2011 include: Mini-Mart Convenience stores operating 18 convenience store locations around Kerrville, Texas; Signature Austin Stores with 20 locations in and around Austin, Texas; EZ Go Foods out of…
District Court Throws Out NYC Cigarette POS Warnings
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York declared null and void the New York City resolution mandating that retailers who sell cigarettes display signs containing graphic health warnings, according to Philip Morris USA. The court ruled that such requirements were preempted by federal law. “We are pleased that the Court…
Sunoco Acquires 25 Locations in New York
Sunoco Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire 25 retail locations from Lehigh Gas Corp., a Bethlehem, Penn.-based distributor of petroleum products. While the terms of the purchase were not disclosed, the retail assets are located in the Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, and Rochester markets of central and northern New York. “The acquisition of these…
TA Adds DEF Island Pumps
TravelCenters of America LLC (TA) is rolling out on-island Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) dispensers. TA expects to install about 50 on-island DEF dispensers at locations across the country in 2011. Installations will utilize new dispenser and point-of-sale (POS) systems that will make purchasing DEF quicker, more efficient and customer friendly. Sites will feature dedicated DEF…