A unique retail service provider is expanding its vision for the future.
By David Bennett, Senior Editor
If casual observers fail to recognize that Sam Odeh has the power then they aren’t reading the signage.
The entrepreneur and broker of the Power Market brand, Odeh, founder and CEO of Power Buying Dealers USA Inc. (PBD USA) is now spearheading a store project that when completed, would give the already multi-faced company a new enterprise to market.
PBD, which is based in Greater Chicago, includes 25 owned and franchised locations in Illinois, Georgia and Florida. The company’s evolving Power Mart format now provides unique products and services including a loyalty offering, a complete foodservice program, “in-store” delivery and merchandising systems, as well as a remodeling package that include interior fixtures, pump advertising, as well construction services courtesy of another PBD USA subsidiary.
PBD is essentially the engine for Power Market, Odeh said. Its purpose is contracting for marketing, merchandising and national vendor alliances that support independent retail operations. The company’s retail arm is Power Market, while PBD acts as the national chain.
The company has alliances with retailers and dealers representing 1,500 locations across the U.S.
“We have alliances in those states to open another 10+ stores in 2017 as management and operations,” Odeh said.
The PBD USA sales and marketing program known as ” Vision 21″ provides interior retail format strategies for core categories including tobacco, beverages, snacks and other categories. The program is currently deployed to more than 500 stores with a proprietary fixture, showcasing a national tobacco platform. In 2017, the company will introduce new solutions to include beverage and snacks destination strategies as well as the Powmaro’s private label foodservice program.
“Our main focus with our operators is to illustrate and inform them on there real estate potential, transforming there sites to ‘Powmaro’s’ in 2017 and beyond, Odeh said.
In 1989, Odeh formed what would become PBD.
COMPANY CO-OP
In the beginning, PBD coordinated the in-store merchandising for a handful of independently-operated convenience stores. Now PBD has a concept store on the table that is not only a departure from how a typical c-store is designed, the model signals a far cry from how a typical c-store functions.
Now plans are to reconstruct a foodservice diner in Rosemont, Ill., at a cost of $4 million.
“It’s basically just like a co-op,” Odeh said. “So the dealer brings the land to the table. We bring the construction, we bring the marketing, and we bring the operation.”
Designed to span three stories, the building would include a full liquor store; “a store within a store,” Odeh described it.
In addition, the second floor would include a food court for casual dining.
Offering ethanol and biodiesel fuels, the store, consuming upward of 13,000 square feet, would also offer a third–floor space that can be used for business meetings and small events.
FOODSERVICE OUT FRONT
Foodservice will be a main attraction at the planned site, which is scheduled to open in 2017.
Power Mart’s deli menu, marketed under the Powmaro’s label, includes signature sandwiches and unique cold and hot food offerings such as Mediterranean cuisine, which are currently offered at the store location in the Power Mart format.
In addition to these programs, another of the company’s divisions, Power Energy Corp., is the fuel distribution company, which handles the “Power” fuels, including regular base fuels, Ethanol E85 and biodiesel.
Currently, PBD USA’s c-store membership chain is mainly branded ExxonMobil.
The company also offers a loyalty program, “Front Flip” as part of its licensing and provider services.
“In 2017, it’s going to be a service offered nation wide,” Odeh said, referring to the company’s proprietary loyalty program.