Craddock Oil recently unveiled a state-of-the-art, new-to-industry (NTI) BlueSky Epicenter store, in McComb, Miss., complete with its first-ever tunnel car wash. The new site marks Craddock Oil’s 49th BlueSky convenience store in Mississippi.
As BlueSky grows, it’s focused on future-forward innovation. The chain boasts two proprietary foodservice programs, a premium bean-to-cup coffee offering and cutting-edge self-checkout kiosks. Embracing a vision of continued evolution, BlueSky is also committed to store enhancements, prioritizing modernization through remodels, while evaluating opportunities to further expand its footprint across Mississippi.
Headquartered in McComb, Miss., Craddock Oil also distributes fuel to 27 independent retailers in the state.
It All Started In 1979…
Ron and Nancy Craddock founded Craddock Oil Co. in 1979, when they purchased a small bulk plant with a few stores in McComb, Miss. Ron had a long history working for ExxonMobil before purchasing the distributorship.
“He went out on his own and, from an entrepreneur standpoint, took a risk,” said David Craddock, Ron’s eldest son, who now serves as president of Craddock Oil. David was nine years old when his father bought the business. By the time David was in high school, the company had grown to around 16 locations through NTIs and acquisitions.
In 1999, David officially joined the company after completing his MBA. A couple years later, Ron’s younger son Ben Craddock came on board as well.
Ron had founded a sister company called What A Combo Inc. in the late 80s, through which the company began managing its quick-service restaurant portfolio, and Ben began to focus his efforts there, while David concentrated on the c-store business. Today, Ben serves as president of What A Combo Inc., which now operates five Krystals, nine Subways, a Penn’s Fish House and a Church’s Chicken across the state.
Once the brothers joined the business, the company set its sights on growth through acquisition.
A few notable acquisitions included the 2002 purchase of an Exxon distributorship that brought seven locations and expanded the chain’s footprint from the south to northern Mississippi; the subsequent purchase of Lipscomb Oil Co.’s assets in the Jackson, Miss., area that added another seven sites; and the 2015 purchase of 15 sites from Litco Oil in Tupelo, Miss.
“The majority of (our growth) has been through acquisition, but we’ve done a lot of demolish-and-rebuilds,” Craddock noted. “We try to take two or three sites a year and remodel them just to add more space for what we do and to make the stores more viable for the future.”
After trying its hand at the deli business in the 80s, Craddock Oil had moved away from proprietary foodservice. But when it purchased two stores with barbecue programs in the early 2000s, it decided to start developing a proprietary barbecue program called Sweet Daddy’s barbecue. It went on to create a second proprietary program called Cloud Nine Chicken.
Today, 16 of its 49 locations feature one or both programs. Newly designed stores include both programs, while some sites purchased through acquisition can only accommodate one. A number of the c-stores also feature Subways.
At 81-years-old, Ron continues to serve as CEO of Craddock Oil. “He still loves our business,” Craddock said. “And I think to be in the convenience store / fuel business … you really have to have a passion to do it.”
Introducing The Epicenter Store
In March, BlueSky opened its Epicenter store in McComb. The moniker “Epicenter” is a nod to Ron who created the term. BlueSky partnered with design firm Paragon Solutions on the design.
The new store measures 10,000 square-feet and includes a 2,000-square-foot Subway, as well as BlueSky’s proprietary Sweet Daddy barbecue program, proprietary Cloud Nine chicken program and two self-checkout kiosks.
“We smoke our own food inside the store. We have a smoker actually on-site, and we used an open-concept kitchen where you can actually see (employees) preparing the food,” Craddock said. “We put all our bells and whistles into this store as far as our food programs.”
The store also features bean-to-cup coffee, specialty teas and BlueSky’s proprietary homemade fresh doughnut program.
“We tried to add everything that we like because every time I build a store, I find something that I go, ‘We kind of missed on that,’ and we’ve tried to encompass everything that we think (helps contribute to) the most open, free-flowing, consumer-friendly type location that we can build,” Craddock added.
As aforementioned, the new site also includes BlueSky’s first tunnel wash, called BlueSky Super Wash, and marks its foray into the car wash business.
“We’re going to see how that blends itself together to see if we want to use this type of model in the future when we’re building stores. …” Craddock said.
All BlueSky locations feature fuel, and 80% fly the Exxon flag. The other 20% feature the chain’s own proprietary BlueSky gas brand. The Epicenter site features Exxon gas and includes an Exxon prototype price sign that includes a giant LED board, allowing the chain to advertise a billboard on the price sign. Only a few exist in the country.
“It actually makes a huge impression on someone driving down the street and seeing this thing,” Craddock said.
Inside, the store features an open-air design with high ceilings and light colors throughout. BlueSky used its traditional color scheme of Carolina Blue and electric green. The color scheme and the name BlueSky were developed for Craddock Oil back in 2003 by Rodney Richardson, a professional designer and high school friend of David’s.
“We wanted something that made everybody feel good, and that you can go a lot of different directions with,” Craddock said.
The logo design features a cloud car graphic. In the Epicenter store, cloud lights were added above the checkout counter to further highlight the brand.
As customers enter the store, they’ll see the transaction area and open-air kitchen are “co-mingled together in a way that is more conducive to customers getting in and out of our store,” Craddock said.
The store has two different entry points to further aid speed of service, and the Subway offers a drive-through, which is a first for the chain.
Key features include a large beer cave with French doors, which allow customers a better view of the shelves inside the beer cave, and a fountain area named “Big Sips,” which ties together the dispensed beverage program and Mississippi. The chain is adding the phrase “Sip Happens,” to its mats to continue the play on words.
BlueSky also looked to offer more creative gondola shelving to add to the upscale ambiance. The Epicenter store features a triangular-shaped gondola that acts as the store’s “candy zone.” Of note, the store doesn’t feature any peg hooks, except for a small end cap for health and beauty. Instead, product is displayed on trays and bars, offering a clean, crisp look.
“David said, ‘It’s the Epicenter.’ — that’s how he said it to me — ‘Let’s make it stand out.’ And I really think we did as a team accomplish that,” noted Jim Lenon, director of marketing for Craddock Oil.
Going forward, BlueSky plans to incorporate many aspects of the Epicenter design into future locations, depending on the space available.
Currently, BlueSky is in the process of rebuilding a site that was destroyed by a tornado about a year-and-a-half ago that is expected to reopen later this fall. “It has a lot of the same elements (as the Epicenter store), but it won’t be quite the same design due to the fact that we don’t have the footprint from a use of land standpoint,” Craddock said.
Craddock Oil has a few pieces of property earmarked for future expansion, but as a small chain, construction plans can take time. In addition to its two to three remodels a year, BlueSky aspires to one NTI per year going forward.
Tracking Technology
As BlueSky looks to grow, it’s staying on top of the latest technology.
BlueSky offers delivery for its proprietary foodservice offerings through DoorDash, Grubhub, Tupelo 2 Go and ASAP.
Bean-to-cup coffee equipment is featured at all locations. Craddock originally introduced bean-to-cup five years ago, after seeing the offering at a friend’s c-stores. He began testing the program in about 20 locations and slowly grew it across the fleet of stores.
“The thinking behind it was that a customer obviously would get a better cup of coffee, a fresher cup more consistently (compared to glass pots or air pots),” he said. “I almost think you have to have it today if you’re going to be in our business.”
BlueSky uses ExxonMobil’s rewards app and loyalty program, given that the majority of its stores fly the Exxon flag.
About 10 stores feature self-checkout kiosks. Although given the many age-restricted products, including lottery, cashiers are still necessary.
“You still have to somebody interact with that customer,” Craddock said. “I think it’s a good niche for about 25-30% of transactions. … I wouldn’t say you’ve got to have one, but I would say that I think it’s a nice added feature to have for what the customers are looking for today. And I do think that when you do have those times during the day where your sales associates are backed up, that it makes that customer that’s familiar with it go, ‘It doesn’t matter how crowded it is in there, I can still get in and out as quickly as I want to.’”
BlueSky customers can pay with their mobile phone using Apple Pay, Google Pay or through the Exxon app. “If you have your credit card or debit card that’s connected to the ExxonMobil Rewards+ app, you can just come in and touch it, and it actually takes (the payment) right from your phone,” Craddock said.
Looking Ahead
BlueSky is always on the lookout for new opportunities.
“If another chain came into play that fit with us, then we would definitely be interested in it, but we’re also looking at NTI stores and developing the properties that we have now to be successful in the future,” Craddock said.
That includes continuing to remodel stores, and make them bigger, adding the foodservice programs to more locations, both of which Craddock sees as key in a competitive and shifting market.
“We understand that electric vehicles are part of this. We don’t have any charging stations at this point, but are we looking at it? Absolutely. But it’s still a matter of how they fit into our footprint, what the customer wants today, how we implement them within our own system. There seem to be a lot of questions that surround that,” Craddock said.
He added that one of the biggest parts of the chain’s success has been its employees. Some long-term employees have been with the company for more than 20-30 years.
“Even though we’ve grown and gotten bigger, we still are definitely a family-run business and try to treat people as part of that family,” he said.
Having grown up in the family business alongside his brother, building the business is a lifelong love, Craddock said.
“It’s been a lot of fun being able to work with my father. When I came back into the business, it offered a different perspective for me of what he went through to actually grow the business, take the risk to be successful,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in trying to build on what he did when he started.”
