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CSNews Online
from CSN-1021
by ensembleiq
Speedway Puts Former Sites in 22 States on the Market
Speedway LLC tapped NRC Realty & Capital Advisors to sell 166 former service stations, retail development sites and undeveloped land sites owned by the convenience store chain and its affiliates. Some of the properties have small buildings on them. All of the sites are being sold individually through a sealed bid auction.
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Wawa Goes Back to School With Month-Long Promotion
Wawa Inc. held a “Cheers to the Classrooms” celebration during the month of September across its entire operating footprint. It included free coffee for all teachers and administrators; a “Cheers Tour” with its Wawa Community Care Truck; and a partnership with DonorsChoose, an online resource for teachers to submit funding requests for school supplies and/or support.
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TravelCenters of America Explores New Food Concepts
TravelCenters of America Inc. is rationalizing its current restaurant offer and developing two new food concepts. “We are deep into the work of developing other concepts designed around a studied understanding of our customers’ needs, and look forward to further announcements before year-end,” CEO Jonathan Pertchik said during the company’s second quarter 2021 earnings call.
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Couche-Tard Announces Pacific Northwest Acquisition
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is picking up 35 convenience store and fuel retail sites from ARS Fresno LLC and certain affiliated companies. The locations are operated under the Porter’s brand and situated predominately in Oregon and western Washington.
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FDA Issues First Denials of Flavored E-Cigarette Marketing Applications
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied the marketing applications for approximately 55,000 flavored electronic cigarette products. According to the agency, the filings — which were submitted by three applicants — failed to provide evidence that the products protect public health. The rejections were the first for electronic nicotine delivery systems.
EXPERT VIEWPOINT
Two Trends Will Change the Look of the C-store Industry by 2030
By 2030, the convenience industry may look very different. A convergence of two industry trends is on a collision course with future sustainability, writes Robert E. Bainbridge, principal at C-Store Valuations. The first trend is the movement to alternative fuels; the second is sale-leaseback financing.
With today’s inevitable push toward “green energy,” the current Administration has established a $15 billion investment fund with the goal of installing a nationwide network of 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Deloitte Insights forecasts that EVs will account for about 25 percent of all new car sales in the nation by 2030.
Meanwhile, sale-leaseback (SLB) financing has had a significant impact on the industry, and SLB locations carry a comparatively high cost of operation created by these leases. According to a new shutdown analysis of a typical c-store using the earnings and operating cost data from the 2021 Convenience Store News Industry Report, the economic situation for these SLB stores will be especially dire due to an emerging trend of fewer customers as EVs gain market share.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
How C-stores Can Outcompete QSRs Through Digital
The convenience store industry has been transitioning away from the old “Cokes and smokes” model and toward a foodservice-focused business model for some time now, with foodservice currently accounting for the secondlargest revenue category after tobacco. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has only hastened that change, shifting the competitive landscape so that c-stores are now regularly competing with quickservice restaurants (QSRs), as well as other convenience retailers.
Widespread adoption of mobile and online ordering, curbside pickup and delivery during the pandemic means consumers today view these amenities as standard. C-store operators will quickly find themselves left behind if they don’t offer these options, according to a recent Convenience Store News webinar sponsored by Paytronix Systems Inc.
However, c-stores have to deal with unique concerns not shared by restaurants. For example, how many SKUs should their online menu include? How does online ordering for pickup affect staffing levels? C-stores must answer these questions and more to stay competitive with QSRs.
For more exclusive content, visit the Special Features section of csnews.com.
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