In the days when a can of soda or ice cream were 25 cents, owning a grocery or convenience store was simpler. With less competitors, with easy-to-track daily loyal foot traffic and limited inventory, it was sufficient for a small business to have a simple cash register at the checkout counter. Cash registers have, in…
Sweetening Candy Sales
Avoiding common pitfalls and developing a merchandising plan can boost convenience store confectionery sales. By Heather Henstock, Contributing Editor. Keeping shelves full of customers’ favorite candy, gum and mint brands may seem like an obvious practice for convenience store category mangers. However, controlling out-of-stocks continues to be the top challenge for c-stores managing the candy…
Dissecting Private Label Trends
Private label performance is mixed across CPG channels; club and mass/super channels seeing strongest share growth. SymphonyIRI Group’s latest Times & Trends Report, “Private Label: Brand Positioning in the New World Order,” explores current and emerging trends around private label, as well as national brand efforts to protect and grow their position in the CPG…
Seizing Control of Smokeless Sales
Convenience store retailers are still concerned over the FDA’s involvement in smokeless tobacco, but many expressed optimism that the category can continue to thrive. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. While taxes and regulations haven’t impacted sales of smokeless tobacco products as much as some had predicted, it remains up to retailers to continue aggressively marketing…
Hershey Introduces Pieces Wrapper Rewards Campaign
Singer, songwriter and actress Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who first achieved success in her music career with her song “Pieces of Me,” celebrates another “Pieces” debut as The Hershey Company adds to its Pieces Candies line. Building off the success of the popular Reese’s Pieces Candy, the new Pieces Candies offer snackable, bite-sized versions of classic favorites…
New Year, New Opportunities
For many convenience store chains, 2009 could not end soon enough. A challenging economy, higher operating costs, outrageous credit card fees and an onslaught of new tobacco taxes were just some of the issues retailers had to contend with. In our ongoing effort to provide readers with the tools they need to make informed decisions,…
Aztex Buzzing Over Beer Sales
When beer sales were made legal last August in formerly dry Clay County, N.C., Aztex Fuel & Food Centers’ Hayesville location was ready to pounce, becoming the first c-store in the market to supply cold suds. Aztex, an experienced c-store marketer, knew from its other stores that alcohol sales can drive foot traffic and increase…
Baked Goodness
TOP PERFORMERS Oreo (Nabisco/Kraft) Kellogg’s/Keebler Chips Ahoy (Nabisco/Kraft) HONORABLE MENTIONS Bon Appetit Mrs. Freshley’s (Flowers Foods) Prairie City Bakery Sweet snacks purchases are on the rise at convenience stores creating new sales opportunities across all dayparts. Packaged sweets accounted for 2.6% of the $114,010 stores acquired through average monthly sales in 2008, according to the…
Protecting Cigarette Sales
TOP PERFORMERS Altria Sales & Distribution (Philip Morris USA) R. J. Reynolds Lorillard HONORABLE MENTIONS Liggett Vector Natural American Spirit/Santa Fe (Reynolds American) Commonwealth Brands Despite the wild nine-month ride that saw a large federal tax increase and the Food & Drug Administration gain control over the category, cigarettes continue to dominate in-store sales, accounting…
High Margins Propel General Merchandise
The general merchandise/novelty category provides retailers with a unique opportunity to capture customers’ personal interests in a high-margin item. Novelty has evolved into a core category because retailers can anticipate 30-60% margins on novelty products. With such strong profit potential, chains in major markets can earn about $35,000 a year per store from the novelty…