With the economy rebounding, 2011 is the perfect time to start driving general merchandise and health and beauty items in c-stores. “If you have cutting edge items, and word gets out, people will flock to your stores,” said Brad Lemoine, marketing director for 40 Louisiana U-PAK-It stores, a brand that unites several operators who all…
Predicting Prepaid Growth
The prepaid card market continues to grow, and consumers are purchasing cards more often at “prepaid malls” inside convenience stores. “Rather than going to the actual store for a (Gap, for example) gift card, they go to a 7-Eleven and get the card for that store there. For c-stores that can be significant since many…
Cigars, E-Cigarettes Earning More Shelf Space
Tedeschi Food Stores of Brookline, Mass., made a decision four years ago to slash the space it gave cigarettes to increase its focus on other tobacco products (OTP). Cigarette sales continued to trend downward in the chain’s New England markets—thanks to a combination of higher taxes and aggressive marketing by Native Americans—and Tedeschi wanted to…
Strong Forecast for Meat Snacks in 2011
Meat snacks had a robust 2010 at U.S. convenience stores, bringing in a total dollar volume of $859,071,196, according to Nielsen Co. data for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 22, 2011, up 4.8% from the previous year. The top products driving the meat snacks category for the year in dollar volume were traditional sticks at…
Getting More Out of the Back Office
Today’s fast-paced retail environment demands that convenience store owners invest in retail systems that not only speed up service, but do more to help chains reduce operating costs. Back office isn’t backstage. What happens there directly affects customers, so retailers need to get it right. Today’s systems must be able to offer useful services, such…
Dairy Facing Higher Costs
Closer management of the dairy category will be crucial in 2011. According to the U.S. Dairy Association (USDA), dairy will be among the food groups with the highest price increases in 2011—4.5 to 5.5%—due to rising energy and cattle-feed costs. While the industry has evolved, many chains, such as Byrne Dairy Co. in Syracuse, N.Y.,…
Sandwich Sales on a Roll
There’s a reason why American Retail Services (ARS) of Oceanside, Calif., chose sandwiches as the centerpiece of the budding foodservice program it’s launching in its 100-store chain. Chicago-based market research firm Mintel International estimated in September 2010 that despite the challenges of the recent economy, sandwich shop sales grew 3.1% in 2010 to $24.3 billion.…
Healthy Breads, Ethnic Flavor Propel Bakery
The bakery category is not as simple as heating up some dough to produce to produce bread, cookies and muffins. The complex category requires attention to detail. Does the product come frozen and ready to go right into the oven? Does it come frozen, and only needs to be thawed before serving? Is the product…
Dealing With Tobacco’s Cloudy Future
For all the controversy surrounding cigarettes and increased local and federal taxes, cigarette sales fared well in 2010, according to SymphonyIRI Group. For the 52 weeks ended Dec. 26, 2010, cigarette sales totaled more than $53.5 billion, up 5.21% from the pervious 12 months. Units sold increased 1.52% to slightly more than nine billion. The…
Chocolate Sweetens Confectionery Sales
As the economy sputtered through 2010, confections emerged as the indulgence of choice for price-sensitive customers. The confections segment enjoyed a banner year with total chocolate sales increasing 6.89% to $2.1 billion. Units sold increased 6.3% to 1.78 billion. The average price held steady at $1.18, according to SymphonyIRI Group, for the 52 weeks ended…