CS_Expo 2015

Welcome to the CSExpo 2015 Welcome to the CSExpo 2015 This event was made possible by the generous support of our many sponsors. Special thanks to Core-Mark International, our Event Title sponsor and to our category sponsors, Western Refrigeration and Continental Store Fixtures

An Opportunity whose time has come

www.core-mark.com

Core-Mark is designed to simplify your business and maximize your profits.

Whether you are an independent retailer or a part of a national chain, Core-Mark offers each of its customers valuable customized solutions and services designed to help you grow your business.

We offer resources to help drive sales and profits: Canadian Regional Office Suite 207, 3445 – 114th Ave SE Calgary, Alberta (403) 724-0690

• Product Trends & Optimized Offering • Regional Demographics & Space Rationalization • Data Analysis & Competitive Comparison We are committed to providing superior customer service while delivering quality products and value-added resources to our customer.

We are committed to our Customers.

Come see for yourself.

Contents Welcome Messages

Andrew Klukas WCSA 4 Mayor of Richmond 7 Mayor of Vancouver 9

Sessions and Sponsors

Session and Speaker Overviews 10-13 Introducing our Sponsors 14-15 Sponsor Directory 16-17 Major Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19

Category Reviews At The Pumps 34 Carwash 25 Cold Beverages

22 Confectionary 27 Dairy 20 Foodservice 24 Frozen Dispensed Beverages 22 Hot Beverages 23 Lotto Sales 30 Payment Solutions 29 Point of Sale 34-35 Refrigeration 20 Snacks 24 Store Fixtures 34 Tobacco Related Products 32 Tobacco 32

Welcome!

Welcome!

Thank you for attending the Western Convenience Stores Association’s first Convenience Store (CS) Expo!

Our goal as an association is to support a stronger, more diversified convenience store sector that generates satisfying returns for both retailers and suppliers.

For several years the WCSA has pursued that goal through training programs, research and government advocacy. As shown by the launch of the new, free training program in Crime Prevention Safety for Small Retail these efforts will continue.

With the CS Expo we are building stronger connections between retailers, suppliers and distributors. We have created the Expo to make it easier for Western Canadian retailers to meet new suppliers and distributors, learn about the latest products and services, and do business. I truly hope you will gain new ideas and find new products and services to help increase your sales, attract new customers, build your brand, grow your business, and improve your bottom line in 2015 and beyond!

Check out the schedule of educational sessions in the room. The sessions are staggered throughout the day so you don’t have to sacrifice one for another.

The Expo floor is open all day until 4:30. Stay as long as you like.

The CS Expo has been produced in partnership with Core-Mark Int’l and Convenience & Carwash Canada Magazine. I would like to thank the many sponsors listed in this brochure, and to offer a special thanks to our Category Sponsors: Western Refrigeration, MI Petro, and Continental Fixtures.

Have a fun, productive day!

Andrew Klukas President, WCSA Page 4

PROVIDING CANADIANS WITH THE LATEST SELECTION OF C-STORE EQUIPMENT BEVERAGE DISPENSERS Fountain Dispensers FCB/Slush Dispensers Juice Dispensers WALK IN COOLERS Custom Design Glass Doors Refrigeration Systems Storage Racks Product Glides GLASS DOOR COOLERS & FREEZERS 1, 2 & 3 Door

OPEN MERCHANDISERS Multi-Purpose Vertical & Horizontal Island Displays End Cap Displays REFRIGERATED FOOD Deli Display Cases Condiment Cases Ice Merchandisers ICE MACHINES Cubers Flakers Nugget

ICE CREAM Soft Serve/Shakes Dipping Cabinets Novelty Display Cases HOT FOOD PROGRAMS Roller Grills Heated Merchandisers Bun Warmers Microwaves MISCELLANEOUS Cup/Napkin Dispensers Trash Dispensers Safes

In House Coast to Coast Service Network

1.888.443.1946 www.wr.ca • info@wr.ca

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r u yo es er e v ow v l i G he P S ng li l Se

CO N T I N E N TA L

Maximize your space and keep merchandise moving with our C-Line Rolling Gondola and C-Line 4 Way Display.

Created with you in mind, the C-Line system is light weight and easily installed. It also has the option for open castors so it can be moved around with ease and its wide selection of accessories make it versatile to show a variety of products.

With an open base and adaptability for slatwall, peg board, slat grid, or solid board backing, the C-Line system is your convenience store shelf solution.

At Continental Store Fixture Group we’ve been helping retailers with shelving solutions for over 50 years. Contact us today to find out how we can help you 1.800.663.4674 or visit our website continentalsfg.com.

GREETINGS FROM THE MAYOR: On behalf of City Council and the residents of Richmond, I would like to extend sincere greetings, and welcome everyone to the Western Convenience Store Association’s 2015 Convenience Store Expo, being held on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at the Executive Airport Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre in Richmond.

This first-ever western Convenience Store Expo will bring together local retailers with regional and national suppliers and will provide a platform for important dialogue, to view displays and to showcase products.

We are pleased that you have chosen Richmond as the host city for your expo. Our vibrant community has the quality services and attractions to ensure that your event will be a huge success, and will be remembered by all attendees for years to come. I hope those of you visiting will find the opportunity to enjoy the restaurants that are abundant in our city, as well as our many shopping destinations and recreational facilities. Richmond is also home to an abundance of natural parks, gardens, and miles of dykes to walk and explore.

Best wishes for a successful expo!

Malcolm D. Brodie Mayor

4544805

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WEX CANADA THE LEADING FUEL CARD IN THE U.S. — NOW ACCEPTED IN CANADA The WEX Fuel Card is used by over 7.7 million drivers in the U.S. Many of these fleets are cross-border, providing a valuable source of business for Canadian fuel and service providers. In addition, WEX has now begun issuing cards for Canadian-based businesses.

ABOUT US: • Fuel card provider in the U.S. since 1983 • Over 350,000 customers, representing over 7.7 million cards • Product features such as 99.8% Level III Data Capture, Product Type Controls, Advanced Reporting

CONTACT WEX to see how your locations can gain acceptance by the WEX Card, and gain access to new customers.

Visit wexfuelcard.ca for more information.

WEXLF 20141222

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www.WEXfuelcard.ca

May, 2015

A Message from the Mayor On behalf of the City of Vancouver, and my colleagues on City Council, it gives me great pleasure to welcome everyone attending the Convenience Store Expo.

As the first convenience store expo in western Canada, this event is important to our region’s economic development. Thank you to the Western Convenience Store Association and Core-Mark International as well as Convenience and Carwash Canada Magazine for their efforts to bring this expo to our region.

I hope everyone attending the Convenience Store Expo has an enjoyable and rewarding time.

Yours truly,

Gregor Robertson MAYOR

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Sessions Petroleum “Impulse” The counters of your c-stores are where profits are won or lost. Impulse works every moment of every day to showcase targeted digital media based on what is in a customer’s basket.

Its exclusive affinity engine uses sophisticated algorithms, purchase history, price book information, promotion schedule, time of day, and more to suggest precisely the right up sell item to every customer.

Impulse users have found the product to both showcase company branding and consistently boost in-store sales by 3-5%.

Eva Chambers Social/Digital Media Manager Convenience & Carwash Canada Magazine Are you reaching out to your customers through social media?

Your customers are using social media to look for everything from cool new beverages to coupons for carwashes. Come see how you can use social media to attract customers to your c-store, carwash or retail petroleum site. It takes more than just offering a low price or coupons, it means adding value to their shopping experience. See how retailers just like you use social media to form meaningful connections with customers and their communities. Since one size does not fit all, we’ll show you some unique ways that small and large retailers promote their stores using social media.

Carolina Fridman Temporary Foreign Workers

I will focus on the major changes to Canada’s economic immigration programs around foreign workers, including the Labour Market Opinion Assessment (LMIA) process (recruitment, filing and compliance), Work Permit process, and Permanent Immigration (overview of Federal and Provincial Programs).

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Sessions Kevin Gass, Vice President, Lottery Gaming, BCLC Andrea Manchon, Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, BCLC Play it Forward: Sustainable growth for lottery retailers, BCLC and British Columbians The Province of B.C. founded BCLC 30 years ago with the purpose of generating revenue for the public good. Today, 87 cents of every dollar gambled is invested in British Columbia. BCLC’s 30th anniversary is an opportunity to change the conversation about gaming in B.C. and support sustainable growth in the gaming industry.

In this session, participants will learn: • How retailers have supported the growth of British Columbia’s communities over three decades • How BCLC is leveraging its 30 year milestone to broaden the player base and provide a platform for growth • The role retailers can play in this campaign

Kevin J. Collette VP Sales, Sonny’s Help your C-store, carwash, or petroleum retail operation realize its full potential.

Reduced fuel margins and increasing costs have C-store operators looking for a new profit center. And, in this competitive economy, car wash operators need to strategize more than ever to stay profitable.

Come learn how to understand a car wash site’s fullest potential from a professional operator’s viewpoint. Kevin Collette shares his experiences and tells you how he converted an automatic in-bay to a mini tunnel. He’ll equip you with tools to help you look at your site’s potential from a 360-degree view so you can determine where you should focus your resources. Kevin’s hands-on session will show you how to tie your site data into important strategic decisions.

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Carolina Fridman is a Canadian lawyer specialized in Immigration Law. She is a member of the Law Society of Manitoba and the Canadian Bar Association and is currently serving as Chair of the Immigration Section of the Manitoba Bar Association.

For over 16 years, Carolina has practiced in the area of Canadian Immigration law, advising and assisting businesses and individuals in all forms of temporary and permanent entry into Canada. Carolina has extensive experience in dealing with Port of Entry offices, and visas offices abroad on assessment of foreign workers. She focuses in the transitioning of temporary foreign workers and students to permanent resident through the Provincial Nominee Programs, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Worker Programs.

Carolina has undertaken foreign recruitment initiatives on behalf of Canadian companies for both high skilled and low-skilled workers.

Kevin J. Collette serves as Vice President of Sales at Compact Tunnel Organization (CTO). Kevin oversees the distribution network for SONNY’S line of mini tunnels, as well as all sales to high volume gas station, c-store, and self-serve automatic sites. Kevin has a wealth of knowledge about the Carwash Industry and enjoys using his extensive experience to help his customers grow their businesses.

Collette was a co-founder of Istobal USA, where he served as President and was responsible for Istobal operations in the United States and Canada. He studied at the University of Maine, where he majored in Business.

Francis Wight is the National Sales Manager for McIntosh Petroleum Industries Inc. Francis has been in sales for 20 years and has 10 years experience in Retail Petroleum.

Whether you are re-branding, building a new site or upgrading your petroleum equipment, Francis and his team will provide a complete Retail Petroleum Solution for your business.

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Eva Chambers enjoys helping small and large businesses take advantage of the power of social media to connect with customers and grow their businesses. Eva is a passionate marketing professional skilled in all facets of communications with a deep expertise in social media strategy. Although her experience covers many digital media topics, Eva likes to focus on connecting organizations with their communities online. She loves to work with companies that are forward thinking and understand the value of investing in social media. Eva speaks on how to incorporate social media into traditional marketing programs and convert new customers.

She frequently writes articles for Convenience & Carwash Canada Magazine (www.convenienceandcarwash.com) that feature convenience, petroleum, and carwash retailers who utilize social media to connect to their communities and gain new customers.

Andrea Manchon is responsible for leading BCLC’s Public Affairs Team, providing guidance and direction in the delivery of engagement strategies for key stakeholders in BC’s gaming industry. This includes local governments and communities which host a casino, non-profit organizations that receive funding from gaming, and the public health sector. She has more than 10 years experience in corporate communications, media and public relations.

Prior to joining BCLC in 2011, Andrea was part of the Vancouver 2010 team, which planned and staged the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In this role, Andrea helped build support and enthusiasm for the Games through community celebrations and stakeholder outreach initiatives.

Andrea volunteers with the Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of BC, which teaches deaf and hard of hearing children to listen and speak, and is a volunteer mentor in the YWCA’s Connect to Success program, which matches professional women with mentees who are entering or re-entering the workforce.

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The CSExpo would like to introduce and thank our major sponsors

When you play with BCLC, you play it forward. Every time a lottery ticket is purchased or dice in

a casino are rolled, it funds programs in communities across B.C. For 30 years, BCLC has been

playing it forward. Thanks to our players, more than $18 billion has supported communities, provincial programs and services, charities, and major events that have helped shape B.C. 87 cents of every dollar of gaming revenue goes back to communities through prizes, operations that create employment, and funding to help communities thrive, including municipal projects, healthcare and education.

The Canadian Trade House started operation in 1995 as an importer of food products to the retail industry with products coming from around the world. Since then we have continued to refine our products and our business model to become a premier importing and distribution company to the Canadian Food industry.

Our focus is on new and unique products to meet the growing need of a Simplified Foodservice solution for all parts of the day. We are known for innovation and try hard to provide solutions to the C-Store industry. With National Sales and Distribution capabilities and innovative products The Canadian Trade House is poised to become the go to company for unique quality products, for all parts of the day for the C-Store channel.

The Continual Store Fixture Group Inc. has, since 1965, evolved with the retail industry.

Everything from our Corporate name and address, to our personnel and comprehensive product mix has been updated to meet the demands of today’s market place. Our years of experience with a wide range of retailers, coupled with our knowledge of new retail developments have given us the best possible base to help you achieve your full retail potential. With over $2 million in “ready to ship” inventory, the Continental Store Fixture Group can react quickly to our clients’ demands with rapid turnaround. The cornerstone of our business is attention to detail, listening to our clients and providing the best possible service at all times. Continental Store Fixture Group is committed to treating our clientele, regardless of size, with respectful, friendly and speedy service.

Core-Mark Int’l is one of the largest marketers of fresh and broad-line supply solutions to the convenience retail industry in North America. Founded in 1888, Core-Mark offers a full range of products, marketing programs and technology solutions to approximately 35,000 customer locations in the U.S. and Canada through 29 distribution centers (excluding two distribution facilities that Core-Mark operates as a third party logistics provider). Core-Mark services traditional convenience retailers, grocers, drug, liquor and specialty stores, and other stores that carry convenience products. We offer a full range of chilled, frozen, beverage and food items, food service offerings, marketing programs and technology solutions to service North America.

Imperial Tobacco Canada is part of a truly global organization operating in a diverse and highly

competitive market. We are committed to operating a sustainable and eco-friendly business whilst maintaining our position as Canada’s leading Tobacco Company. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco with nearly 500 employees across the country in sales offices and at our Montreal head office.

We are proud to distribute our high quality brands to some 29,000 retailers throughout Canada. British American Tobacco p.l.c. is the world’s most international tobacco group, with brands sold in 180 countries andmore than 55,000 employees worldwide JTI-Macdonald Corp. is one of the oldest companies in Canada, tracing its origins to 1858. We are a

member of the JT Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tobacco products. In Canada, its brands include Export ‘A‘, Macdonald Special, LD, Camel and Winston. JTI-Macdonald employs more than 500 people across Canada, with its head office in Mississauga, manufacturing facilities in Montreal and sales offices across the country. Our products are available across Canada, where our Trade Marketers ensure that our brands reach adult smokers every day of the year.

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The CSExpo would like to introduce and thank our major sponsors McIntosh Petroleum Industries Inc. is distributor of Gilbarco Retail Petroleum dispensing equipment as well as Veeder-Root Automatic tank gauges, Red Jacket submersible pumps, Bulloch POS systems and Bestworth Rommell canopies. In addition to our sales capabilities we also possess full turnkey construction solutions with our own in house teams of installation, electrical and service people to look after all of your C-Store petroleum equipment, construction and support needs.

Introducing TRACE. The original, Mineral Rich Water is revolutionizing the beverage and wellness industry. TRACE is pure Rocky Mountain spring water infused with fulvic and humic ingredients.

This rare organic plant matter found deep within the Rocky Mountain plain naturally turns the water jet black. The infusion process organically forms a bond with vital nutrients, resulting in pH balancing water over +8.5, that has zero calories but is full of electrolytes and essential Trace minerals. Trace minerals are necessary for good health and are responsible for moving oxygen through the body, strengthening bones and teeth, helping form enzymes and acting as powerful antioxidants.

Available in three ready to drink varieties: Original, Coconut Vanilla & Blueberry. Trace has a mineral rich concentrate (just add water) and a new sugar and caffeine free “Intermission Shot”. TRACE MINERAL RICH WATER regenerates and rehydrates and provides a natural boost of minerals for athletes and anyone wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. TRACE: the daily drink for a healthier life.

Western Refrigeration & Beverage Equipment Ltd. is Canada’s leading convenience and food store equipment distributor since 1946. We provide complete turnkey equipment packages

include: equipment sales, store design, installation, product training and warranty coverage.

We offer a wide range of equipment options such as walk-in coolers/freezers, open air merchandisers, reach-in coolers/freezers, ice machines, frozen beverage (slush) machines, soft ice cream dispensers/novelty freezers, roller grill programs and other food equipment.

Scotsman, Howard McCray, Fogel, QBD, Cornelius, and Electro Freeze are just a few of the brands we carry. At Western Refrigeration we are committed to providing top quality products, exceptional service and innovative business solution.

WEX Inc is a North American leader in the fleet payments industry. With over 30 years experience

in the payments industry, our tools can help businesses effectively manage their fuel spend.

WEX today provides category-leading fleet, corporate and prepaid payment solutions across a wide spectrum of business sectors around the globe.

Our award-winning customer center was ranked in the top 20 of the Top 100 Call CenterList. Our customer service center is fleet focused. North American based, and open 24/7.,business sectors around the globe.

• • • •

issues fleet cards for 7.7 million vehicles; has over 350,000 customers across the U.S.; is now expanding across Canada; has a 97% customer retention rate.

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Sponsor Directory Mr. Chris Fairclough BCLC 2940 Virtual Way Vancouver, BC V5M 0A6 CFairclough@BCLC.com 604-228-3122

David Beck Continental Store Fixture Group Ste. 17, Bldg 4, 19272 - 96 Ave. Surrey, BC V4N 4C1 david@continentalsfg.com 604-882-3561

Leanne Claerbout General Mills 5825 Explorer Dr.Mississauga, ON L4W 5P6 Leanne.Claerbout@genmills.com 905-212-4884

David Lane / Mike Kawas Bon Appetit Bakery 4820 E. 50th St. Vernon, CA 90058 d.lane@bonappetitbakery.com 949-533-2400

Glenn Brillinger Core-Mark Int’l Suite 207, 3445 114 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2Z 0K6 glenn.brillinger@core-mark.com 403-978-2333

Amy Blundell Global Payments 3381 Steeles Ave. E., Ste. 200 Toronto, ON M2H 3S7 amy.blundell@globalpay.com 416-847-4420

Brad Bossert Bulloch Technologies 6305 Northam Dr., Unit 15 Mississauga, ON L4V 1W9 brad.bossert@bullochtech.com 416-574-2242

Keith Johnson Creative Planogram 802 Cochrane Dr. #1 Markham, ON L3R 8C9 kjohnson@creativeplanco.com 905-947-8791

Mike Senior Harlan Fairbanks #300 - 819 Clivedon Place Delta, BC V3M 6C7 msenior@harlanfairbanks.com 604-525-6466 ext. 105

Karen Vincenzio Canadian Trade House 201, 4216- 10 St. NE Calgary, AB T2E 6K3 karenv@canadiantradehouse.com 403-237-8829

Reeve Bunn DSL Int’l 14520-128th Ave. Edmonton, AB T5L 3H6 reeve.bunn@dslinc.com 780-394-0359

Adrian Onicel House of Horvath 77 Ossington Ave. Toronto, ON M6J 2Z2 adrian.onicel@hofhcanada.com 604-340-3347

Fred Breeuwsma Chapman’s Ice Cream 17923-61 Ave. Edmonton, AB T6M 1T4 bedrockf@shaw.ca 780-903-3673

Jason Delaplane F’Real Foods 37 Avenida De Orinda Orinda, CA 94583 jdelaplane@freal.com 925-588-4569

Fabio Martini Imperial Tobacco Limited 3711 St. Antoine St. Montreal, QC H4C 3P6 fmartini@itl.ca 1-800-361-7504 x ext. 232

North Shore Tobacco Canada

All North Shore Tobacco Canada

All Canadian

Canadian Our products are a true premium choice that smokers love.

Ourof products Using locally grown tobacco from the shores Lake Erieare a true premium choice that smokers love. with no additives or preservatives, our pure natural Using locally grown tobacco from the shores of Lake Erie blend has been developed by our local with no additives or preservatives, our pure natural farmers with the highest standards, blend has been developed by our local we promise you will notice. farmers with the highest standards, we promise you will notice.

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Sponsor Directory

Vilson Chalissery InfoNet Technology 410 - 4584 Canada Way Burnaby, BC V5G 4L5 vchalissery@infonet-tech.com 604-689-7589 ext. 224

Jeffrey Bakun Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. #6, 1245-34TH Ave. NE Calgary, AB T3B 5W8 jeffrey.bakun@rbhinc.ca 403-291-9420

Kate Good Wex Inc. 225 Gorham Rd. South Portland, ME 04106 kate.good@wexinc.com 207-773-8171

Mike Sainchuk Jack Cash 11717-78th St. Edmonton, AB T5B 2J2 mikes@telusplanet.net 780-910-5853

Valerie Lesh Sonny’s Direct 5605 Hiatus Rd. Tamarac, FL 33321 vlesh@sonnysdirect.com 800-495-4049

Tammy Stelmachowich Tank Traders PO Box 190 LaSalle, MB R0G 1B0 tammy@tanktraders.com 866-553-2131

Lesley Harany JTI MacDonald 1 Robert Speck Pkwy, Ste. 1601 Mississauga, ON L4Z 0A2 lesley.harany@jti.com 905-804-7387

Daryl Hornberger Western Refrigeration 1232 - 36 Avenue NE Calgary, AB T2E 6M8 dhornberger@westernrefrigeration. com 403-250-9656

Gene Grimm Van Houtte Bay1, 2915 - 10th Ave. Calgary, AB T2A 5L4 ggrimm@vanhoutte.com 403-648-8468

Michael Reeder Mars / Effem 903-4620 - 10th Ave. W Vancouver, BC V6R 2J5 michael.reeder@effem.com 778-288-5937 Mr. Francis Wight MI Petro/McIntosh Petroleum 4330-116th Ave. SE Calgary, AB T2Z 3Z9 fwight@mipetro.com 403-266-5558 Carolynne Drane National Importers 120, 13100 Mitchell Island Rd. Richmond, BC V6V 1M8 carolynnedrane@nationalimporters. com 604-377-4548 John Mazzuca National Smokeless Tobacco 160 Quarry Park Blvd., SE Calgary, AB T2C 3G3 john.s.mazzuca@nstco.ca 403-254-5660 Martino Ciambrelli Naturo / Trace 1672 West 2nd Ave. Vancouver, BC V6J 1H4 martino@naturogroup.com 604-569-1414 Diane Meulemeester North Shore Tobacco Canada Inc. 124 Norfolk Street, N., PO Box 458 Simcoe, ON N3Y 4L1 diane@northshoretobacco.com 519-428-3332

jackcashatm.com

JAKE KENNERD p 204 801 0475

JACKCASH

Convenience for your customers, 489 6038 f 204 revenue Extra for your business jakekennerd@jackcashatm.com jackcashatm.com

YOUR CASH MACHINE OPERATORS

Convenience stores, pubs, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, lobbies, special events, and more!

Any high traffic business is improved with a JACKCASH ATM! As a locally operated company we are commited to fast, dependable service. JACKCASH will tailor an ATM package to suit your needs.

Our services include: ◆ Free ATM installation - machine included at zero cost to you ◆ No monthly fees ◆ Free technical support - on-site response within 24hrs ◆ Free monthly transaction reporting ◆ Custom screen and decal options ◆ Signing bonuses available!

Our equipment is state-of-the-art, EMV (chip-card) compliant and dispense both paper and polymer bills. To ensure our machines are always running, we provide software and hardware upgrades at zero cost!

PLACE YOUR MESSAGE HERE!

Keep customers informed! Up to 8 custom images can be displayed on a 7” Color LCD screen in 5-20 second intervals.

Custom decals and full ATM wraps available!

jackcashatm.com Page 17

WCSA and Core-Mark Int’l in partnership with Convenience & Carwash Canada would like to thank our current confirmed sponsors:

C a t eg ory S ponsor

Go l d S p o n s o r

JT International approved logo

The colours shown on this page are not intended to match the Pant For accurate colour references please refer to the current editio Formula Guide.

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Si l v e r S ponsor

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Category Overview Refrigeration Canada’s convenience stores are prime users of refrigeration with costs running about 50 per cent of store electrical usage (47 per cent of all fuel types).

Manufacturers are working to lower the costs of in-store refrigeration while making it more environmentally sustainable. Certainly, one way refrigeration companies are helping to lower cost is by utilizing datadriven insights that tell operators about energy usage and maintenance histories. In some cases, stores are turning to third parties to analyze data, keep track of performance and maintain chill systems. With more C-stores looking to foodservice and fresh sections, refrigeration needs have become more complex as retailers seek to limit fresh food spoilage. Systems are also more technologically complex when it comes to offering sustainable solutions. For example, data based maintenance can seek out refrigerant leaks more capably than before. The upshot is money saving and greater environmental protection.

Manufacturers are coming forward with a number of interesting innovations. For example, some systems now offer multi-tasking condensers that perform the functions of two condensing units to supply refrigeration to both a walk-in cooler and a freezer. Other systems feature low noise options that provide higher capacity without increasing the size of the refrigeration unit. New natural refrigerants are also showing up in the market. Here, CO2 systems are reducing carbon emissions by 33 per cent and minimizing energy use for refrigeration. Others are looking at propane as a new refrigerant. Companies report this natural refrigerant could reduce energy by 50 per cent over traditional systems.

Dairy According to the Canadian Dairy Commission, national sales of fluid milk stand around 3 billion litres.

Most popular is 2 per cent milk with sales of more than1.3 billion litres. Chocolate milk has shown the strongest growth with sales increasing to more than 210 million litres. Cream sales are also on the rise with sales volumes exceeding 300 million litres.

Yogurt consumption steadily increased over the past 20 years, says the Commission. From 2005 to 2010 average yogurt consumption grew by 22%. Average cheese consumption per capita has grown from 12.04 kg to 12.66 kg from 2005 to 2010 with most growth in the cheddar and fine cheese categories.

In Canada’s C-stores, the dairy sector is valued at more than $88 million in sales of milk, butter, ice cream and yogurt. Product freshness, variety and brand continuity all remain key elements of successful merchandising. Dairy needs to be kept cool – around four degrees Celsius. Retailers should keep products in stock and neatly displayed from eye to thigh so that customers can find products quickly.

An even bigger opportunity for convenience retailers is the impulse purchase or add-on sale. Many products can be cross-merchandised or bundled with other complementary items in order to take advantage of this opportunity for incremental sales and profit.

Dairies are also boosting sales with innovation. For example, Saputo has expanded their Milk 2 Go line with an Iced Coffee flavour that stands alongside their already highly popular Milk 2 Go brand. Milk 2 Go is the number one RTD milk beverage in Canada and offers an assortment of 10 flavours. Chocolate is their most popular option.

Look to dairy as a growth opportunity as consumers reach into the cold vault for what they perceive as a good-for-you thirst quencher.

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Category Overview Frozen Dispensed Beverages Dispensed beverages represent more than $84 million in C-store sales and approximately 10.5 per cent of gross profits. The leading component stands out as frozen drinks like Slushies and others. Frozen drinks represent the lion’s share of this category.

According to Jason Sparrow of DSL Inc., the ability to include innovative flavors in your soft serve and slush s you apart from your competitors. Customizability is increasingly important to customer decisionmaking. Adding a Flavor Burst system to your soft serve or slush machine allows you to add up to eight flavors (with dozens of flavors to choose from) to a serving of ice cream or to a single barrel of slush. The touchscreen interface makes it easy for customers to choose exactly what they want.

Not only do customers demand high-quality products, they increasingly expect to be able to ‘make it their own way’. Whether it’s soft serve or slush, retailers that want to stand out need to provide customers with a user-friendly way to customize their purchase.

Blair Wankling, Vice-President Sales at Harlan Fairbanks suggests C-stores not involved in machined beverages need to reconsider their drink options. He mentions that significant margins in the range of 40 to 80 per cent are available to operators who have that equipment on site.

Slush Puppy has been a long-standing winner from Harlan Fairbanks and ICEE and is the originator of the frozen carbonated beverage. “ICEE is fluffy and less wet. This means more profit. It also features less hassle because it’s a bag in a box set up,” said Wankling, noting that of the 11 flavours in the ICEE lineup, blue raspberry is the favorite, ahead of cherry and cola.

Wankling suggests that C-store owners should consider carrying fruit smoothies and frozen cappuccino.

“Caramel Chocolate Macchiato has been a very strong seller as people look for innovation and novelty”.

Wankling notes that frozen ‘capps’ take advantage of the gains in the specialty coffee segment.

Cold Beverages Sales in the biggest section of the cold beverage category, carbonated soft drinks (CSD), are flat. Sales and profits are coming from areas such as dispensed beverages, waters and health brands.

Cold beverages are worth in excess of $200 million to Canada’s C-store operators. This number represents an impressive volume of flavoured waters, energy drinks and carbonated colas. More impressive still is the fact that cold beverages represent just below 20 per cent of the industry’s gross profit stream on about 10 per cent of overall sales. This means operators need to pay attention to this category and to understand where they need to push to grow the category.

Overall, beverages are described as being flat or in decline (+0.9% increase to 2016- Euromonitor) in its largest areas such as carbonated soft drinks. In fact, the Canadian Beverage Association reports that CSD consumption in Canada is down 30 per cent over the past 10 years. The growth opportunities lie in sectors such as flavoured waters, energy drinks and Better-For-You beverages, where the gains have been strong (+5 % - Wells Fargo). In fact, the top-ten list of US beverage companies now includes three water brands, a sports drink label and a healthy lifestyle drink.

Today, many C-store customers are looking for beverages that bring real and lasting refreshment, and Canada’s C-stores are focused on becoming refreshment central. Operators are typically allocating as much as 70 per cent of store space to beverages. Meanwhile, water beverage companies are coming out with bigger packaging beyond single serve.

With changes in consumer demand, stores need to rethink the cold vault and put their money on variety that includes Better-For-You selections, and cold beverage innovations.

Page 22

Category Overview Hot Beverages An estimated 14 billion cups of coffee are consumed in Canada every year. This makes coffee the number one beverage behind tap water. Consumption rates are highest among Canadians aged 65 plus (81 per cent) with an estimated 37 per cent of Canadians in the 18 to 24-year old group drinking coffee. Within the 18 to 24-year old demographic the preference is for specialty beverages such as cappuccinos, lattes, espresso, café mochas and iced coffee. Here operators can find a higher price point, replacing a $1 coffee with a $4 specialty beverage.

Trends favour branded coffee programs such as Core-Mark International’s Arcadia Bay. Core-Mark reports positive trends around flavour shots, individual portion packs or bulk dispensers of flavoured cream.

Flavour leaders are French Vanilla and Hazelnut, which account for about 80 per cent of market demand.

Other specialty coffee flavours to watch are Glazed Donut, Cinnamon Bun, and Cookies and Cream Cappuccino, as well as Chocolate Caramel Macchiato and seasonal flavours like Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint Twist.

“Sales of old-fashioned drip coffee are decreasing as espresso-based specialty beverages are rapidly gaining popularity”, says Jason Sparrow of DSL. “With a fully automatic coffee system, you no longer need a barista to create an unlimited combination of frothed milk and coffee beverages.”

Single-Cup Brewing is another key area of category development in hot beverages. Seen as a way to reduce waste, a brewed-coffee program with a glass-pot thermal system emits waste of 15 to 20 per cent.

According to Van Houtte Coffee Services, their Keurig system has seen a 100 per cent implementation rate within some chains.

Best practices include positioning the hot beverage offering in a place of prominence within the store.

However, it›s not a one-position-fits-all scenario. Some locations may position the hot beverage station at the front of the store. Others prefer having it in the back in order to draw consumers through the store.

Whatever the placement, the key is to ensure the station is well advertised and promoted both inside and outside of the store.

Lastly, don’t forget about tea. Canada’s ethnic mix is changing as many new residents come from countries where coffee is not the hot beverage of choice. According to Harlan Fairbanks’ Blair Wankling, tea is a leading in most of the rest of the world so operators should be prepared to have a good selection on hand and get customers to sample.

Category Overview Foodservice More than 54 per cent of Canadian C-stores offer some form of foodservice - either packaged goods or prepared on site. This includes 70 per cent of independent operators with gas and 65 per cent of chains (chains with gas only see 38.5 per cent of operators offering F/S). Chains are doing a better job of monetizing their foodservice opportunities, with 16 per cent of gross profit coming from prepared food items while independents earn just four per cent. Breakfast consumers aged 18 and older reported buying doughnuts (60 per cent), muffins (41 per cent), bagels (40 per cent) and made-to-order sandwiches (38 per cent) at least once every 90 days. Daypart leader is lunchtime ahead of breakfast.

There is a big focus on roller grills, says Rick Woods of Canadian Trade House. He suggests that operators are looking for unique new products to help them stand out in the crowd. Hot dogs and smokies are still number one on the roller grill, but items such as taquitos and calzones (microwave) are making good gains. Woods recommends that operators be prepared to change flavours as demands shift and to be flexible with their options. He reports that there are fewer and fewer gas flush products as people seek out a less processed offering. People are also looking to operators to step up the overall package and more closely mirror Quick Service Restaurants, which have learned to serve quality hot breakfast and lunch options at a value price point.

Consumption of smaller, bite-sized snacks and grazing reflect growing trends. These might range from smaller healthier portion items, salads or easy-to-eat grab ‘n’ go foods.

Snacks Snacks stand out in the top five C-store sale items with volumes that exceed $236 million, or 2.8 per cent of total sales. Across the country margins range from a low of 28.8 per cent in Quebec to above 45 per cent in Ontario, making these items strong profit performers. Annual growth is pegged at four per cent.

Teens look to convenience stores most often for a snack in the afternoon or the evening (73 per cent of their visits). Evening visits are the most common among adults aged 55 and over, with more than 45% purchasing snacks at this time. Thirty per cent of visits from snack seeking seniors are occurring in the morning.

Salty snacks account for more than half the market with new product innovation in cooking style, flavours and packaging helping to drive sales. Overall the salty segment is seeing annual gains of 6 per cent, with total C&G sales exceeding $1.4 billion and representing half of all sales in the salty snack segment.

Meat snacks tend to have higher margins than other snacks and therefore deliver a stronger profit to the retailer, says Blair Patterson of Direct Plus Food Group, a company that distributes McSweeney’s, a product line that holds a 40 per cent share of the country’s meat snack sector.

According to Kellogg Canada National Sales Director Mark Richie, “Forty per cent of consumers are interested in better-for-you snacks, and NPF (Nutritious Portable Foods) is seeing some of the biggest dollar growth in the snack category”.

Key to success of the category is visibility, convenience and great taste. Placements close to the door, the front end, and close to beverages are key areas to drive both impulse and planned purchase.

Page 24

Category Overview Carwash The Carwash industry is growing quickly. In fact, North American operators enjoyed gains of 2.5 per cent last year. In Canada, individual car wash sales averaged $8.00.

What’s driving sales? The industry reports that there is a greater demand for detailing services as people become more aware of the advantages of a clean car. More detailing means more revenue. Another important trend to consider is the low cost of fuel, resulting in more miles driven. The more people drive the more often they will need to wash their cars, creating growing opportunities for operators.

The positive economic picture also bodes well for wash operators. While business saw rapid and deep declines following the economic collapse in 2008, continuing economic growth corresponds with higher disposable incomes, new car sales, and growing demand for car washes. Expect revenues to continue to climb over the near term.

The challenge of finding and retaining employees is promoting growth in the number of Express Wash systems. At the same time, those operators who are successful in their efforts to recruit and retain new employees will find new training available to enhance staff performance and customer service.

Expect manufacturers to increase energy efficiency across the board as operators look to reduce operating costs by reusing water, re-circulating heat and finding greater effectiveness in wash chemicals. Here are four items to consider: Liquid wax and delivery; LED lighting effects; Drying equipment advancements; and RFID retention programs.

As well, a new generation of Smartphone and web-based payment technology will result in improvements to payment systems. One example is Apple Pay, a mobile payment service announced by Apple last year.

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Category Overview Confectionery Canada’s Confectionary Market is one of the most competitive in the world. Current estimates value the Canadian market at close to $5 billion across all retail channels. Growth is pegged at three per cent with operators typically seeing 30 per cent to 40 per cent profit margins. In the US, the industry is valued at $23.8 billion. Globally the trade is estimated at nearly $80 billion with a growth rate of just under one per cent. Top global consumers of confectionery goods are Vietnam, Brazil, Ireland, China, and the Czech Republic. These countries are seeing sales growth of between 11 per cent and 25 per cent each year.

Canada’s top ten brands in chocolate have been stable over the past 30 years. With this in mind, retailers need to have the leading brands on hand as consumers are highly brand sensitive and loyal. Moreover, it is essential that confectionery products such as chocolate bars be highly visible and available for impulse purchases. Best placement is close to the counter within arm’s reach of the cash register. According to Mars/Effem, operators should focus on the top–selling SKU’s and ensure these are always in stock.

Operators should also piggyback on consumer promotion and set up multiple displays throughout the store to maximize impulse opportunities and follow the plan-o-gram.

Looking ahead to 2019, market researcher Euromonitor forecasts declines as parents become more vigilant about caloric and sugar intake. Here declines will come from bubble gum and sugarized gum, which parents increasingly view through the lens of their children’s health. Sugar-free gum, a product that has been viewed as a way to help mitigate sales declines in bubble and sugarized gum, will likely continue steep declines due to ongoing consumer apathy. Euromonitor expects gum sales to fall in Canada at an annual pace of one per cent over the next four years. Canada’s leading gum flavours are Mint, Fruit, Spearmint, Peppermint and Cinnamon.

Chocolate singles represent 35% of the total daily chocolate sales across all channels. In Canada’s C-stores, bars make up 50% of total chocolate sales. Singles are still one of the highest margin chocolate segments in the channel, and therefore should remain a key focus for retailers.

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Category Overview Payment Solutions C-Store and gasbar customers are looking for advanced, secure and simplified payment solutions at the checkout, and companies are delivering.

Key trends in the industry include: EMV contactless; mobile payments, such as Apple Pay; value-adds beyond the basics of payment processing, such as dynamic currency conversion and gift & loyalty; and unique, industry-specific solutions and feature-sets. Â The hot topic within the category is mobile payments. This includes both mobile point-of-sale solutions, designed to allow merchants to accept payments on-the-go, and contactless-enabled solutions that support mobile acceptance (allowing consumers to pay for goods and services with their mobile device).

Mobile printing is important to completing mobile transactions. Here operators should look for ease of use, media capacity, battery capacity, and durability. Whether they are printing a receipt at a remote location or printing a price and stock label in the snack foods section, mobile printers should work with existing hardware and software to be most effective. Â Those with fleets are looking for solutions that can help manage their fuel spend. They need systems that automate data collection to support a variety of automatic tank gauge and accounting system processes. New systems seek to optimize inventory and avoid excess stock. Systems like those from WEX (a company that issues fleet cards for 7.7 million vehicles), improve delivery forecasting by reducing runouts, diversions, split loads, and transportation costs. They also increase average load sizes and improve carrier charge-backs for better carrier management results. They can also greatly increase dispatcher productivity.

Lotto Sales Lottery sales are big business for Canada’s C-store operators with national totals hitting almost $50 million. In Western Canada, values are close to $18 million in commissions on products from Scratch & Win to MAXMILLIONS. BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) advises retailers to keep jackpot signage up-to-date and ensure the higher jackpot amount faces the heaviest traffic source. “People who buy lottery products tend to have a larger basket size than the average shopper. With this in mind, train sales associates to ask all customers who are 19 years of age or older if they want to purchase a Scratch & Win or Lottery ticket.

Take advantage of high jackpots – if a customer comes in to purchase a LOTTO MAX or a Lotto 6/49 ticket, suggest they try the newest Scratch & Win ticket. If you have a regular Scratch & Win player, always remember to let them know about the jackpot amounts on the lottery draw games and ask if they would like a ticket.”

Category Overview Here, BCLC suggests operators ensure they merchandise their Scratch & Win display case according to the plan-o-gram for their network and display case type. Keep your display case fully stocked and have a variety of tickets for players to choose from. Reorder games before inventory gets low. Always have base games and new releases in stock. Be certain you are displaying new tickets as close as possible to launch day as customers eagerly await new products. Do not place clutter on top of your display case, because customers won’t buy tickets if they can’t see them. Train your sales associates on how to properly stock and display tickets in the case.

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Here is some advice for retailers: When customers are aware of products and promotions they are more likely to make a purchase.

With this in mind, post the correct promotional Point-of-Sale (POS) materials. Customers are also more likely to make a purchase if they know the store has winners. Paying out prizes is not only great customer service, but many players will often take their winnings and reinvest them in the store.

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Tobacco

Category Overview

Canadian C-store operators sell in excess of $2.5 billion in tobacco products every year. This translates into approximately 5 per cent of store sales.

Leaders in the cigarette tobacco industry include Imperial Tobacco (ITL), Rothmans Benson & Hedges (RBH) and JTI-Macdonald (JTI), ITL enjoys more than 50 per cent of market share thanks to their leading brands such as Du Maurier, Players and Peter Jackson. Leading brands at RBH, a company owned by Philip Morris International, include Canadian Classic, Next, Number 7 and Québec Classique. JTI is Canada’s third place player with a market share around 15 per cent from brands such as Export A and Macdonald.

Total national sales (all channels) of cigarettes stand at approximately 30 billion individual pieces.

Canadians have been turning more frequently to economy brands with the market seeing sales of more than 60 per cent going to less costly products.

Challenges to tobacco sales include contraband products originating in Asia and from First Nation sources.

The trade in contraband reached a high point in 2008 at over 30 per cent of the market in Ontario and Quebec. The values have been steadily declining in Central Canada thanks to legislative changes and continued pressure from WCSA’s partner associations in Quebec and Ontario. However, their success has resulted in displacement of contraband to the rest of the country. The WCSA has initiated a series of contraband tobacco studies in the Western provinces to understand the scale of the problem in Western Canada, and is working with government officials and municipalities to combat its growth.

Retailers have a social license to sell tobacco products. It is essential that retailers sell these products responsibly and not sell to youth. Association programs such as ‘We Expect ID’ are making Canada’s C-stores the most responsible retailers for age-restricted products such as tobacco. All retailers are encouraged to sign the Canadian Convenience Stores Association’s Code of Conduct. Stores that sign the Code get free access to the “We Expect ID program”.

Tobacco Related Items Tobacco related products are big business. Items such as cigarette papers, lighters, cigars and e-cigarettes are seeing sales close to $270 million through Canada’s C-stores. This segment represents roughly 17 per cent of total store sales.

Leaders among the small cigar companies are Casa Cubana, Scandinavian Tobacco Group Canada and Distribution GVA Inc. The National Smokeless Tobacco Company Ltd. is the largest distributor of smokeless tobacco products in Canada. Located in Montreal, NSTC is the distributor of brands such as Skoal and Copenhagen.

Chuck Arcand, Corporate Director of Canadian Marketing, Core-Mark International, sees products such as E-cigarettes flattening as their market matures and operators face heightened competitive pressures from unregulated shops selling ‘vape’ products, of which some contain nicotine without Health Canada approval.

The current market leader in E-cigarettes is Vapur, a product introduced in 2012 by Casa Cubana here in Canada. “Vapur is seeing gains in the marketplace given its branding, its different flavouring, its distribution, and the way Casa Cubana supports it through its sales team,” says Patrice Beauchemin, National Corporate Account Director Casa Cubana / Spike Marks Inc. He reports that Casa Cubana introduced the Vapur rechargeable line at the beginning of Q4 2014.

Smoke NV is marketed by House of Horvath and, with 32 SKUs, is one of the top selling E-cigarette brands in the country. According to Jeff Steward, National Sales Manager, House of Horvath Inc., E-cigarettes are an innovation that is helping people with their tobacco habit and operators will benefit through new sales.

Smokeless tobacco has seen strong gains in the past 15 years. The industry reports they have seen major tax increases over the past 2 years. The strongest Canadian market for smokeless is in the West, where the industry sees 75 per cent of national sales. Currently one per cent of Canadians use smokeless tobacco.

Reports suggest that 22 per cent of sales come from those aged 20 to age 24 and fifty per cent of sales come from those aged 25 and up.

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At The Pumps

Category Overview

Petroleum retailers have seen profits rise over the past year. Historically, fuel sales have been a high volume low-profit margin sector. Reports now suggest the independent operators are seeing profits around three per cent. Reasons for the gain include a slight decline in distribution and marketing costs and greater efficiency in energy usage.

Underground fiberglass storage tanks (USTs) have been receiving lots of attention after serving as the standard model for more than 50 years. Today’s fiberglass tanks are easier to install, less prone to leaks, and more robust from a safety standpoint. This has resulted in declining installation and maintenance costs.

On the surface, pumps are poised for sales growth. Manufacturers have integrated technology like never before to offer compelling product information at the pump. Examples include video displays and new forms of payment from tap, to swipe, to RFID, making it possible to run the pumps with minimal staff.

Pumps are also faster, with some systems pumping up to 63 gallons per minute, making it easier for more customers to get in and out quickly. Leading edge dispensers also handle new diesel innovations like DEF. They offer multi-fuel configurations and interface with front end and back office support like never before to enable coupon printing, loyalty interface, and suggestive selling right at pump.

Operators of single or multiple sites can now utilize Cloud-based technology that allows timely and complete analysis of fuel sales and inventories. Moreover, analyses can be done remotely using tablets, Smartphones and back office systems. Customers can also receive real-time notifications of alarms andcompliance information, obtain inventory & delivery information, and access site histories and analytics.

Store Fixtures Store fixtures are one of the most important design elements in a convenience store. Over the years much has been cemented into store design, making much of what we see when we enter a C-store or gas bar highly familiar. However, changing consumer demands have necessitated merchandising innovations and fresh design in racks and shelving, and that has C-stores offering a growing slate of products as well.

For example, new from Continental Store Fixtures Group is their C-line a line of products that is predicated on portability and mobility. Easy to set up, these fixtures can be easily moved and repositioned according to preferred product placement and customer traffic. In fact, mobile shelving is an essential component to modern plan-o-grams that seek to be more responsive to consumer preferences. Rolling systems can use wire grids, slat walls, and pegboards to make them work in a variety of configurations that can be wheeled into the best location to attract sales.

The gondola has been a standard in retail since at least the 1950’s. Today’s systems are much the same but they can handle more weight and selection than ever before. Gas bars have seen the use of rolling gondolas take off in recent years as they can help with product assortment and offer flexible merchandising solutions.

Grid display is another area of development allowing retailers to get a lot of items in a small footprint. It is important that these systems are easy for store staff to install, that they are appealing, and that they hold a lot of product. And of course, price is key. Operators are in a constant battle to reduce costs and one place they look hard for savings is in fixtures.

Point of Sale Systems The big news in POS is mobility – mobile printing, mobile payments and mobile analytics. With new technology, retailers can print receipts from hand-held wireless devices and customers can pay with a simple tap of a card or via Smartphone, using features such as Apple Pay. Then there is the Cloud, where operators can park or access data from any digital location, making store analytics more readily accessible.

Could it be that the days of the standard cash register are numbered? Expect Cloud-based initiatives to make legacy cash systems extinct as technology marches forward. Cloud-based POS have already shown that they can outperform many of the current registers.

Mobile POS can improve the customer experience by reducing the amount of time shoppers must wait to complete transactions. Benefits include allowing customers access to a product catalog and acceptance of payments anywhere in the store. Meanwhile, collection of customer information yields intelligence that can be sent to a stationary POS terminal, such as the customer’s purchase history. Retailers are now in the process of replacing stationary POS terminals with mobile POS technology in an attempt to free up valuable display space.

The current commonsense approach is to augment legacy POS hardware with mobile devices to facilitate greater store traffic volume. However, with the rapid change occurring in C-store technology, some older devices such as scanners do not interface completely and therefore require a more thorough upgrade to advanced bar code readers with imaging technology.

Other factors fueling the mobile POS trend include the understanding that an increasing number of consumers want to use their own Smartphones to research potential purchases and perform price comparisons. To this end some retailers give mobile devices to their customers to permit them to shop more quickly by scanning items themselves directly at the shelf rather than wait in line at the cash desk for a clerk to ring through the sale.

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