John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. Hurry, hurry, step right up! It is time to play the game called “G & A Budgeting.” This is the game where heads are counted; budgets are sandbagged and perks are justified. It is an annual ritual that becomes a core tenet in the over…
Managing Today’s Retail Workforce
As major shifts in the economy have created unparalleled effects on the labor market, CSD has partnered with Humetrics to help c-store operators benchmark their hiring practices and employee costs. By Mel Kleiman, Contributing Editor. In an ongoing effort to support the convenience store and petroleum industry’s forecasting and planning responsibilities, Convenience Store Decisions and…
Four Wall Analysis
By John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. When it comes to managing a profitable operation, knowing the key financial drivers of the store is paramount. Developing a “Four-Wall Analysis” is a helpful tool to better understanding both revenue projections as well as variable and fixed expenses. Few operators take the time…
Foodservice Flexibility
Few items that c-stores carry personify the industry’s mission more fully than sandwiches and wraps: convenient, colorful, fast, tasty, inexpensive and full of impulse-sale potential. But the fact that consumers can also find them everywhere—from Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble to Starbucks and every local grocery and convenience store in between—means operators have to get…