In a foodservice survey of 22 leading convenience store chains, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek was voted No. 1 by consumers for its coffee in both Overall Beverage Quality and Food Quality. In its 2014 survey, Consumer Brand Metrics: Convenience Stores, Technomic Inc., a leading food industry research company, asked respondents to identify the retail chains…
Building a Winning Coalition Loyalty Program
Using the KickBack Points coalition program, Alamosa Building Supply and La Jara Trading Post join a loyalty network that includes Alta Convenience Stores, Rainbow Grocery and Summit Markets in Colorado. When Alamosa Building Supply and La Jara Trading Post (LJTP) were looking for a fresh way to compete with the national retail brands, it turned…
A Forward Look at Convenience Retailing
As Convenience Store Decisions celebrates its 25th anniversary, retail experts weigh in on what consumers and c-store operators can expect over the next 25 years. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor “You can’t connect the dots looking forward,” Steve Jobs once cautioned. “You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the…
Challenge Your Way of Thinking
Mind control is an often overlooked quality, but it’s an extremely important attribute in business and in life. By Jim Callahan When I think of the act of mind control, I’m not referring to hypnotism or getting my best friend to squawk like a chicken. Rather, having the right attitude in the face of both…
MLPs: Sign of the Times
More convenience store chains like CST Brands are banking on master limited partnerships to improve their position in a widely-fragmented industry. By David Bennett, Senior Editor Acquisitions have always played a strategic role in the convenience store industry. Take for example CST Brands Inc., which last month entered into an agreement to acquire the convenience…
Leveraging QSRs in C-Stores
Foodservice veteran Dick Meyer shares lessons learned over more than two decades. By Dick Meyer, President, Meyer & Associates In 1993, I was blessed to begin my new consulting firm when the co-founder of Subway, Fred DeLuca, asked me to help them develop win/win development strategies with operators of c-store chains. Fred’s initial charter to…
Profiting With Poultry
C-store operators who put out a good quality chicken product might see their foodservice business fly higher. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor At the Arthur, Ill. location of Jack Flash Convenience Stores, chicken accounts for about 60% of foodservice sales, said John Herrmann, district supervisor for the 11-unit, Effingham, Ill.-based chain. The store also offers…
Fresh is Best
By emphasizing quality, variety and convenience, retailers have the opportunity to convince consumers to purchase more sandwiches rather than making them at home. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor When the quick-service provider Pret A Manger first introduced prepackaged sandwiches in its stores 10 years ago, the first thing the company had to do was communicate…
Cup O’ Competition
A quality coffee program and an array of condiments can differentiate your brew offering from the rest of the pack. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor Last year, 7.8 billion cups of coffee were served by commercial restaurants, the vast majority through fast-food channels, according to NPD Group market research firm. Of those cups, 4.7 billion…
Crafting Better Beer Sales
Millennials are the No. 1 consumers of craft beers, much to the delight of convenience stores that are growing their adult beverage business through specialty ale sales. By David Bennett, Senior Editor North Carolina’s capital city of Raleigh might have remained a beer backwater had it not been for the grassroots lobbying group Pop the…