Leadership Day Returns

Past, present and future leaders will gather in Charlotte next month for recognition and education

AFTER A ONE-YEAR hiatus due to the pandemic, the Convenience Store News Hall of Fame and Future Leaders in Convenience returned as live events last year. Although both were produced virtually via video conferencing in 2020, I was reminded last year of the personal interaction, networking and education that goes on at these two co-located in-person events that make them special.

In 2019, I coined the term “Leadership Day” in the convenience store industry to describe this special gathering of past, present and future leaders of our industry. This year’s Leadership Day, consisting of the 36th annual Hall of Fame dinner and the fifth annual Future Leaders in Convenience (FLIC) Summit, will be held Nov. 21 in Charlotte, N.C.

The day will begin with the largest group of emerging leaders we’ve ever honored. Thirty-three young and talented convenience industry people will take the stage to accept their FLIC awards and participate in a unique, interactive workshop designed to hone their leadership skills and help them overcome whatever challenges they face in today’s business world.

Last year’s emcee, Matt Domingo, senior director of external communications for Reynolds American Inc., advised the FLIC honorees to lend a helping hand and offer advice not only to their direct reports, but also to other colleagues around them. Guest speaker Roy Strasburger, CEO of StrasGlobal, added that leaders should strive to pay it forward. “We are all young enough to still create whatever legacy we want,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be financial or even tangible. It could be as much or as little as someone saying, ‘Roy was a good and fair person’ when I wasn’t standing in front of them.”

This year’s FLIC program promises to be just as strong, with additional workshop and interactive sessions added. Among our guest speakers are Doug Haugh, president of Parkland USA; Danielle Mattiussi, former vice president of retail operations for Maverik — Adventure’s First Stop; and Stephanie Myers, media and public relations manager for Pilot Co. Our thanks goes to founding sponsor Reynolds for its support of this important industry initiative.

The day will be capped off with the induction of the newest retailer and supplier members of the CSNews Hall of Fame, and the presentation of the 2022 Retailer Executive of the Year award.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., and Brent Cotten, vice president of customer and industry affairs at The Hershey Co. In addition, Haugh will be honored as the 2022 Retailer Executive of the Year.

Hall of Fame sponsors include Altria, BIC, Hershey, Mondelez and Reynolds. If you are interested in attending or sponsoring this year’s Hall of Fame or Future Leaders in Convenience event, please contact our Vice President/Brand Director Paula Lashinsky at plashinsky@ensembleiq.com.

I hope you plan to be a part of this educational and celebratory day.

I was reminded last year of the personal interaction, networking and education that goes on at these two co-located in-person events that make them special.

For comments, please contact Don Longo, Editorial Director Emeritus, at dlongo@ensembleiq.com.

COVER STORY PAGE 34 100

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FEATURES

COVER STORY

34 Innovation Surge The convenience store industry is listening, learning and evolving to give customers what they want.

FEATURE

52 Meeting Consumers’ Evolving Needs Comfort and indulgence items dominate this year’s Best New Products Awards winners.

52

DEPARTMENTS

EDITOR’S NOTE

4 Breaking the Mold The convenience story industry’s ingenuity is on full display right now.

VIEWPOINT

6 Leadership Day Returns Past, present and future leaders will gather in Charlotte next month for recognition and education.

12 CSNews Online

26 New Products

AN EYE ON D&I

100 The Metrics of Diversity & Inclusion To succeed in their initiatives, companies need to know where they are starting from and where they intend to go.

STORE SPOTLIGHT

102 Food Forward Fuel City’s newest convenience store reintroduces Chester’s Chicken to the Fort Worth area.

INSIDE THE CONSUMER MIND

126 Contactless Convenience C-store shoppers are growing fonder of contactless shopping options.

SMALL OPERATOR

28 Investing in the Right Technology How should small operators decide where to spend their precious dollars?

26

14

INDUSTRY ROUNDUP

14 GPM Investments Grows Its Southeast Footprint 16 Federal Reform of Credit Card Competition Heats Up 18 Eye on Growth 18 Fast Facts

20 Retailer Tidbits

22 Supplier Tidbits

TECHNOLOGY

94 Putting Itself Out of Business Convenience Store News’ 2022 Technology Leader of the Year, Sheetz Inc., stays focused on evolving its business. CATEGORY MANAGEMENT

FOODSERVICE

70 Evolving in Excellence Casey’s leads the 11th class of Foodservice Innovators Awards winners.

TOBACCO

78 Riding the Tobacco Rollercoaster Looming regulation and economic pressures weigh heavily on the business.

HEALTH & BEAUTY CARE

84 Assessing the Health of the HBC Category The convenience channel can build upon the recent success this category has enjoyed.

CBD

90 Suited for CBD This fast-moving category holds promise for convenience stores.

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BRAND MANAGEMENT Vice President/Group Brand Director Paula Lashinsky (917) 446-4117 plashinsky@ensembleiq.com EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Linda Lisanti llisanti@ensembleiq.com Executive Editor Melissa Kress mkress@ensembleiq.com Senior Editor Angela Hanson ahanson@ensembleiq.com Managing Editor Danielle Romano dromano@ensembleiq.com Associate Editor Sanestina Hunter shunter@ensembleiq.com Editorial Director Emeritus Don Longo dlongo@ensembleiq.com Contributing Editor Renée M. Covino reneek@aol.com Contributing Editor Tammy Mastroberte tmastroberte@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES & BUSINESS Associate Brand Director & Northeast Sales Manager Rachel McGaffigan (774) 212-6455 rmcgaffigan@ensembleiq.com Associate Brand Director & Western Sales Manager Ron Lowy (330) 840-9557 rlowy@ensembleiq.com Associate Publisher & Midwest Sales Manager Kelly Fischer (773) 992-4464 kfischer@ensembleiq.com Account Executive & Classified Advertising Terry Kanganis (917) 634-7471 tkanganis@ensembleiq.com Classified Production Manager Mary Beth Medley (856) 809-0050 marybeth@marybethmedley.com AUDIENCE List Rental MeritDirect (914) 309-3378 Marie Briganti Subscriber Services/Customer Care contact@csnews.com Toll-Free: (877) 687-7321 Fax: (888) 520-3608 PROJECT MANAGEMENT/PRODUCTION/ART Creative Director Colette Magliaro (973) 607-1320 cmagliaro@ensembleiq.com Advertising/Production Manager Ed Ward (773) 992-4418 eward@ensembleiq.com Art Director Lauren DiMeo (973) 607-1321 ldimeo@ensembleiq.com

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