As the senior category manager of fuel pricing for Louisville, Ky.-based Thorntons, Shaun Bolger’s primary objective is optimizing retail pricing within the fuel space for the c-store chain’s more than 200 stores in six states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
“Digging deeper,” he said, “this branches into a number of subcategories to include rationalizing pricing decisions, competitor benchmarking, brand and product strategy, guest experience and fuel loyalty, demand forecasting and P&L (profit and loss) management. This all entails a strong emphasis on analytics and product management.”
No two days are the same, Bolger said, noting that the role requires a certain personality.
“The fact that every day is different, along with the notion that you can be very ‘entrepreneurial’ within this space, have been key drivers,” he said. “Additionally, I’m very competitive with myself, so there’s always a constant desire to outperform internal KPIs (key performance indicators) as well as the competition.”
This sense of outperforming even his own goals extends to his personal life, too. The former college cross-country and track athlete aims to get back into competing in 5k and 10k races this year.
“I’ll also admit I’m frightened of marathons,” he said, “but would love to say one day that I was able to complete one!”
CStore Decisions is recognizing Bolger as a 2022 Category Management Leader for his commitment to optimizing retail fuel pricing, his competitive spirit and his continuous drive to take performance to the next level.
Thorntons DNA
In addition to his bachelor’s degree, Bolger has a Master of Entrepreneurship in applied technologies from the University of South Florida and a Master of Business Administration from Bellarmine University.
He began his career at a large health insurance firm, where he worked in clinical outcomes and analytics. In 2014, he joined Thorntons as an assistant category manager in merchandising/marketing.
“As a local to Louisville, Ky., Thorntons’ reputation preceded itself,” Bolger said, “so when I was contacted by a recruiter, it was an easy decision.”
After a few years of hard work, he moved over to retail fuel in 2016 as a senior category manager, where he works today.
“Whether it’s helping a team member resolve a price sign issue to forecasting the impact of electric vehicles on fuel five years from now, I’m accountable for the performance of a business line,” he said. “However, that performance really becomes amplified and sustainable when the guest and teamwork become the central focus.”
Bolger noted the pandemic redefined demand as it relates to sales volume and created subsequent ripple effects on both the supply chain and labor, which caused both short- and long-term pricing challenges for retailers nationwide. Despite this, he said, Thorntons has “enjoyed consecutive record years in profits.”
“… the restless ‘need to know’ that’s in Thorntons’ DNA, along with in-house capability, has spurred business agility,” he said.
Bolger also cited his relationships — personally and professionally — as keys to his success.
“I’ve been lucky to have some tremendous people both in my professional and personal life,” he said. “Professionally, I couldn’t have asked for a more authentic, considerate and knowledgeable leader. Jamie Wohner (Thorntons’ director of fuel sales) lives our company’s values every day, is a wellspring of business knowledge and truly cares about me as a person. On the personal side, my father has been my hero in life. As an educator, coach and community pillar, I often felt I was on the shoulder of a giant who brought me up on the mantra of, ‘Be humble, work hard, and be a good person.’ I try to live out those words daily.”
There’s much to look forward to in 2022 and beyond, Bolger noted.
“As we begin to unlock new ways of understanding our guests using big data and new technologies, there are huge synergies to be gained in retail pricing,” he said. “I’m also very excited about the growth of our business and look forward to how the convenience space will continue to evolve.”