In the Public Eye

ARKO Corp., Richmond, Va.

Packaged beverage sales rose by 1.6 percent compared to the prior year, and candy was up 3.9 percent to help boost ARKO Corp.’s first three months of 2022. Retail fuel gallons sold increased by 5.9 percent year over year to 239.558 million gallons, while fuel margins grew by 16.8 percent to 37.5 cents per gallon during ARKO’s most recent quarter ended March 31.

Global Partners LP, Waltham, Mass.

The integration of retail fuel and convenience store assets acquired from Consumers Petroleum of Connecticut Inc. and Miller Oil Co. helped drive a strong first quarter of 2022 for Global Partners LP. For the period ended March 31, sales at the company’s convenience stores rose by $7.9 million year over year to $58.1 million. Fuel margins came in at 31 cents per gallon, compared to 24 cents per gallon during 2021’s first quarter.

Parkland Corp., Calgary, Alberta

Parkland Corp. reported strong results for its first quarter of 2022 and generated adjusted EBITDA of $387 million companywide during the three-month period. In the United States, adjusted EBITDA was $47 million, up 147 percent from $19 million in the first quarter of 2021. Its performance was underpinned by prior-year acquisitions and related synergies, strong margins, higher marine fuel demand, and new cruise ship contracts.

TravelCenters of America Inc., Westlake, Ohio

TravelCenters of America Inc.’s net income for the first quarter of 2022 was $16.3 million, up $22 million from a net loss of $5.7 million during Q1 2021. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $26.8 million to $55.4 million from the prioryear period. The company also generated a 45.8-percent increase in fuel gross margin, while nonfuel gross margin rose 7.1 percent.

Solving Big Problems, Inspiring Bold Ideas

EnsembleIQ is a premier business intelligence resource that believes in Solving Big Problems and Inspiring Bold Ideas. Our brands work in harmony to inform, connect, and provide predictive analysis for retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, technology vendors, marketing agencies and service providers.

Premier Manufacturing’s High-quality Cigarettes: A Portfolio of Products a Cut Above the Rest

Speaking with Mark Schueller, Director of Marketing, Premier Manufacturing

Tobacco is an important category for convenience retailers. Despite new regulations further challenging the business, it remains a top money maker for convenience stores.

“For the 52 weeks ending on December 26, 2021, cigarettes were the leading tobacco product sub-category in convenience stores in the United States, with sales amounting to about 57.26 billion U.S. dollars,” Statista reports. “Meanwhile, c-stores sales of e-smoking devices reached 5.93 billion dollars. In total, sales of all tobacco products in U.S. c-stores mounted up to 73.44 billion dollars.”1

When it comes to carrying an exclusive cigarette brand, c-stores are buying in because they realize exclusive store brands can drive sales and deliver higher margins, too. Convenience Store News reached out to Mark Schueller, Premier Manufacturing’s director of marketing, to find out how partnering with Premier — a subsidiary of US Tobacco Cooperative — can help these retailers develop private label tobacco products that will become destination brands, helping to build sales and profits in the category.

Convenience Store News: What makes Premier Manufacturing a different kind of tobacco supplier from other brands on the market today? CSN: Why should c-stores consider partnering with Premier Manufacturing?

MS: Convenience stores must focus on three things in today’s challenging retail environment: profit, reliability, and customer loyalty. Premier Manufacturing can provide value to our retail partners in ways that help them navigate all three. We’ve forged strong relationships with large national distributors like McLane, Core-Mark and Eby-Brown, and with independent, regional and large retail chains including EG America, Nouria Energy and Stewarts Shop. Team members on our national sales and support staff pride themselves on meeting customers’ needs. And we can develop POS materials for high visibility of the brands, along with sales and merchandising programs that produce greater profitibility.

CSN: Let’s talk about pricing. Are your cigarettes available at price points most any shopper can afford?

MS: We have a brand to fit most consumers’ budget and help ensure that they receive better quality product for the price than they would get with other cigarette brands.

CSN: How have stores that have partnered with Premier Manufacturing to develop an exclusive brand fared with the product once it was introduced?

MS: Retailers we have aligned with, such as Nouria and Circle-K, have become more of a destination for tobacco consumers. Partnering with Premier Manufacturing helps drive consumer loyalty for the retailer because tobacco shoppers know they are getting a brand that is available exclusively at that store. We have seen frequency and steady volume increases with our partners.

Mark Schueller: All of our cigarette brands — including 1839, 1st Class, Shield, Traffic, Ultra Buy and Wildhorse — are American-owned, American-grown and American-made. They’re made with U.S. flue-cured tobacco that the 500+ farmers who own US Tobacco Cooperative grow throughout the Southeast. Those farmers maintain GAP Connections Certification Standards, which ensures sustainable, ethical agricultural practices are followed throughout the growing and manufacturing processes. This process is trackable because all aspects of manufacturing are done under one roof. We can go back and see which grower the tobacco came from and when the product was manufactured and shipped.

On our packaging we proudly state, “A Product of US Farmers®” — and we believe so strongly in our brands, our manufacturing process, our service, and our tobacco blends that we back our products with a 100% guarantee!