When eyeballing the top line, retailers won’t confuse maps with tobacco or packaged beverages anytime soon. But this segment deserves the respect it might not be getting. Americans continue to amass near large citiesbut they also have begun to poolin many smaller, traditionally rural towns. Take Atlanta and Asheville, NC,for example. Since 2000, the 10-county…
flu shots at walmart
In-store health clinics are spreading like the common cold to a rising number of major drugstore and hypermarket chains, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CVS Corp. and Rite Aid Corp., according to a Wall Street Journal report. These clinics offer routine medical services such as strep-throat tests, sports physicals and flu shots, charging $25 to $60…
chevron goes the extramile
Chevron Corp. (San Ramon, CA) has opened 43 ExtraMile Convenience Stores in the Seattle market. The stores feature a fresh look, healthier snacks and premium coffee, as well as easy access to chilled waters, energy drinks and more appetizing to-go food options. The ExtraMile stores opened throughout the city this summer to develop a potential…
dinner and a movie
By the end of the year, Redbox intends to have more than 1,000 of its DVD-dispensing kiosks in the U.S., most of them in McDonald
Decision Makers – October, 2005
Rutter’s Farm Stores (York, PA) has appointed Brian Matlock vice president of foodservice. A native of Monterey, CA, Matlock is a veteran of the convenience industry. Prior to joining Rutter’s, he served Worsley Cos. (Wilmington, NC)as category manager, fresh foods and proprietary beverages. From 1997 to 2004,Matlock worked in logistics, operations and merchandising for 7-Eleven…
simplifying contract management
Amphire Solutions (www.amphire.com ) has introduced Amphire Reconcile, a hosted, Webbased solution that gives retailers the ability to ensure compliance of contracts and rebates with trading partners and streamlines workflow for greater profitability. Trading partners using Reconcile would collaborate onlinein real timeto create, store, edit and manage contracted prices and rebates. Reconcile is centered on…
pumped about biofuels
Some people say the U.S. can free itself from foreign oil dependence if it buys from the Midwest rather than the Middle East. Will the industry allow that to happen? Back in February, a gasoline distributor told Karen Riley, vice president of operations for nine-store Jiffy Mini-Marts Inc. (Terre Haute, IN), about an alternative fuel…
gottahava new ad campaign
Wawa Inc. (Wawa, PA) has unveiled a new campaign “gottahava Wawa” for billboards, transit ads, radio and in-store promotions. Wawa hired Richards Group, which counts QSR chain Chick Fil-A and QuikTrip Inc. among its clients, to spearhead the campaign. The campaign started with billboard and transit advertising, then moved into radio and newspaper ads. Customers…
realationship
A new study reveals that customers are ready to take their relationship with your stores and employees to a new level. Are you? Kathy (not her real name) is a grandmother in her late 40s who recently movedfrom an apartment in Scottsdale, AZ, to a house in Phoenix. “So I don’t havemuch connection to my…
Should you add to your ad budget
Advertising is a severely underutilized tool for convenience retailers, according to one industry guru. So, how much should you allocate for your ad budgetand where should you invest it? Each year, convenience retailers spend an estimated $300 million in advertising.That sounds like a lot of dough, but John Matthews, president of marketing consulting firm Gray…