Recently, I spoke for the sixth time at the M-PACT Show, which is the largest gathering place in the Midwest for energy and convenience industry leaders. It is one of my favorite places to present. This year’s presentation was called There’s a New Store in Town – Are You Ready for the Disruption? This was…
Know the Full Advantages of Foodservice Technology
Technology is continuing to change the face of foodservice in convenience stores. With every passing day, month and year, better for-you foodservice options continue to infiltrate the convenience store industry. Slowly but surely, the c-store industry is broadening its foodservice options for customers in a way that rivals restaurants. In fact, according to Nation’s Restaurant…
Mastering Sales Forecasting Basics
Before rushing to technology, understanding sales forecasting basics can help position convenience store retailers for success. By John Matthews A while back, a gentleman that wanted help selling his company approached me. I listened to him describe all the attributes of his company and I was intrigued. He gave me an overview of the past,…
Building a Strong Team Fosters Success
There are many factors in creating good managers. Trust is a key consideration. By John Matthews Retailers require good people to reach their goals and convenience stores are no exception. Surrounding yourself with talented people enables all ships to rise—the company, the employees and yourself. While developing an impressive team does not happen overnight, it’s…
Honing the Category Management Process
So many products, so little time. By John Matthews. A category manager will massage their planograms in search of the “unicorn” of displays, spending hour upon hour trying to get it just right. While the customer clearly appreciates the latest products, sometimes they just appreciate their product in stock and on the shelf. It can…
Conducting a Foodservice Focus Group
Gaining knowledge of what distinguishes your foodservice program requires due diligence and asking some questions. By John Matthews Convenience store operators continue to plunge into foodservice with the hopes of stemming the tide of lower margins with high-margin foodservice offerings. While the degrees of foodservice can vary greatly from chain to chain, the approach to…
Evaluating Retail Real Estate Sites
A real estate evaluation form can save you time and aid you in decision making. By John Matthews. Evaluating new retail sites for the multi-unit operator can be a daunting task. The operator is constantly chasing a number of potential opportunities only to have a few select sites come to fruition. Complicating the site selection…
Operationalizing Your 2018 Business Plan
“The Nice Thing About Not Planning Is That Failure Comes As A Complete Surprise Rather Than Being Preceded By A Period Of Worry And Depression.” — Anonymous Operationalizing your 2018 business planning is a step-by-step process of action, reaction and counteraction for visualizing the execution of your business plan in relation to your competition. Business…
Strategies for Site Planning
There are factors to consider and much data to gather when assessing the right plan to build a new store. By John Matthews Real estate site selection can be a complex web of evaluating store attributes within a potential store trade area. The process utilizes both a science and an art to the overall selection…
Attracting and Retaining Top-Notch Talent
Hiring smart and communicating expectations effectively are two best practices that can reduce turnover. By John Matthews and Carrie Luxem Top quartile convenience store chains have recruiting and retention habits that give them a leg up on the competition. However, attracting and retaining top-notch talent does not happen overnight. It is critical for the manager…