BP today announced that it has officially taken full ownership of Thorntons, marking its re-entry into fully owned and operated stores in the U.S. market.
In July, BP announced plans to acquire the majority share of Thorntons it did not already own from ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC. With the transaction complete, BP’s growing US mobility and convenience business has added more than 200 high-quality retail stores in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Florida and the Thorntons brand to its portfolio.
Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., Thorntons provides a competitive consumer offer and strong business operations. BP intends to build on, and further enhance, this long tradition of providing a distinctive customer experience while creating integrated value across BP’s mobility and convenience and fuels supply businesses.
Convenience retail is evolving amid rising demand from consumers with ever-changing needs. Based on Euromonitor analysis, the convenience opportunity will nearly double over the next decade in 45 of the leading economies of the world, growing at more than 5% each year.
This anticipated growth aligns with the strategy for BP’s convenience and mobility business, which aims to nearly double global earnings by 2030, and deliver 15-20% returns. BP aims to increase the number of strategic convenience sites in its global network from around 2,000 today to more than 3,000 by 2030.
“We are committed to putting the customer at the heart of what we do to help accelerate the mobility revolution and redefine the convenience experience at service stations. Thorntons has generated long-term customer loyalty over the last 50 years because of its best-in-class operations. We are excited to welcome them into our family,” said Greg Franks, senior vice president of mobility and convenience for BP Americas.
Today, BP has more than 11.5 million global customer touchpoints per day with a target of increasing that number to more than 15 million by 2025. BP’s customer app, BPme, has more than 3 million transacting customers globally, and the company aims to grow the number of customers on its digital platforms more than tenfold by 2030.
Thorntons’ successful, customer-focused app and digital presence will help enhance the digital solutions needed to develop innovative and personalized offers. This includes high-quality food, loyalty programs and next generation mobility solutions, including electrification.