John Lofstock

Understanding what your customers want from foodservice will go a long way in meeting their daily need for fresh foods. By John Lofstock, Editor Just a decade ago, convenience stores were struggling to penetrate the foodservice market. The industry battled with a reputation problem that had many people wondering if it could effectively shed the…

Shoppers come to convenience stores to get their needs met. But if retailers don’t fully understand what shoppers want, efforts to capture more of their business will probably miss the mark. This has been one of the biggest challenges facing c-stores over the past couple of years, especially as retail is changing so dramatically. Retail,…

The convenience store industry proves time and again that innovation and hard work are the foundation that supports steady, meaningful growth. This growth isn’t only important from a sales standpoint, but is vital to a company’s long-term stability when analyzing the human element. Convenience store companies must be able to produce young talent that will…

Corporate culture must be well defined to best entice top talent to join your ranks. By John Lofstock In today’s competitive convenience store industry, your corporate culture values and what you stand for are just as important to customers as the products you sell. More precisely, it is what defines your brand in the community…

Rocky Sickmann, who retired from Anheuser-Busch in 2016 and is a survivor of the Iran Hostage Crisis, understands the dangers facing our military servicemen and women. That’s why Sickmann joined Folds of Honor in 2016 as a senior vice president. With his involvement in Folds of Honor, Sickmann has been able to educate and encourage…

The National Advisory Group (NAG) is proud to announce that Rocky Sickmann, a former executive with Anheuser-Busch and survivor of the Iran Hostage Crisis, now a vice president with Folds of Honor, will deliver the keynote address at NAG on Sept. 9. Rocky Sickmann, who retired from Anheuser-Busch in 2016 and is a survivor of…

By John Lofstock Honesty, integrity, respect, humility and innovation. These are the words that define Kwik Trip…and it shows. The La Crosse, Wis. convenience store chain exemplifies what it means to be a “people company.” It is fully committed to customers, employees and its vendor partners, not as a strategy to grow the business, but…

By John Lofstock, Editor. The convenience store industry’s young executives face unique challenges as they grow their businesses in the competitive c-store market. The National Advisory Group’s (NAG) Young Executives Organization (YEO) was formed specifically to addresses these challenges and help the industry’s leaders of tomorrow identify solutions with others in their age group. Last…

While lighters and cigarette papers have been the traditional backbone of the tobacco accessories category, the vaping segment offers new opportunities to grow sales. By John Lofstock, Editor The tobacco accessories category continues evolving thanks to new products and a renewed willingness by convenience store owners to carry these new products, specifically items associated with…

By John Lofstock. The convenience store industry continues to grow sales at record numbers, but the stakes have never been higher as convenience store owners face competition from multiple retail channels. As competition increases across the board, savvy retailers are learning to take costs out of their operations to run lean, efficient top-quartile businesses. The…