Love’s Travel Stops announced a commitment to help fight racial inequality by donating $150,000 a year for the next three years to the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City. In making the announcement, the Love’s Family of Companies stands against racism and affirms the value and equality of all people. “We have always valued the…
Cigars Are Smokin’
While the COVID-19 health crisis has hindered the nation’s economy, it seems to have lit a fire in the cigar market, at least in the short term. “Within the cigar category, I am seeing about a 10% increase in volume year-to-date versus the same period last year,” said Mark McCarty, director of category management with…
Kum & Go Celebrates Pride Month With Donations
Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go released a statement on its support of Pride Month, which takes place each June to commemorate the Stonewall riots of June 1969. Last year, the c-store chain teamed up with Capital City Pride, an Iowa LGBTQ+ nonprofit dedicated to producing educational events and programming that celebrates the state’s diversity, to…
Opportunities for CBD in Convenience Stores
As cannabidiol (CBD) moves the mainstream, convenience stores are in prime position to benefit from the product’s rapid growth. U.S. sales of hemp-derived CBD products reached $4.2 billion in 2019, a 562% increase over 2018, according to Brightfield Group. While few consumers had heard of CBD prior to 2018, the signing of the Farm Bill…
RYO: Steady as She Rolls
Roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco sales lit up in the midst of the COVID-19 sheltering, with c-store sales jumping 17.9% the four weeks ending in mid-April compared to the same period last year, and rebounding from a drop off of 3.1% for the preceding year, according to IRI Convenience All Scan data. Elaine Annis, retail operations coordinator…
Ryan Faville Joins YEO Board
The National Advisory Group’s (NAG) Young Executives Organization (YEO) is pleased to announce that Ryan Faville, director of purchasing for New York-based Stewart’s Shops, was named to the YEO Board of Directors. Faville, who oversees category managers and buyers at the 337 Stewart’s Shops across New York and southern Vermont,replaces Lindsay Lyden, of Ohio-based truenorth, who…
Shoppers Stock Up on Accessories
Tobacco accessories are soaring amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Dollar sales grew 4.3% for smoking accessories, with unit sales up 2.4% for the latest 52 weeks ending April 19, 2020, according to market research firm IRI’s Total U.S. Convenience data. And in the latest four weeks ending April 19, 2020, dollar sales climbed a massive 33.6%,…
Selling Cigarettes Responsibly
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a directive in December 2019 stating, “It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product — including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes — to anyone under 21.” The ruling had an immediate impact on convenience stores. Selling tobacco to underage customers will result in fines, penalties…
Tobacco’s 2020 Trajectory
Tobacco sales have proved a bright spot for many convenience stores during the COVID-19 pandemic, but while c-stores anticipate robust tobacco sales for the remainder of 2020, retailers are bracing for the potential chill of regulatory headwinds. As the pandemic first hit the U.S., many customers began hoarding tobacco products — particularly cartons of cigarettes…
COVID-19 Accelerates Digital Momentum
As the COVID-19 pandemic rolled across the U.S., convenience stores with frictionless checkout or order-ahead options found themselves ahead of the curve in adapting to social distancing requirements while still providing timely service to customers. When the pandemic hit, Baltimore, Md.-based High’s was already offering Skip frictionless checkout at the majority of its locations, as…