Leading Through Crisis or Calm THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY RELATIONSHIPS between convenience store retailers and supplier partners has perhaps never been more pronounced than in 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic appeared, it waved in sweeping changes seemingly overnight and left retailers struggling to adapt. And who did operators turn to for insights and solutions? Their…
January 2021: The 2021 Social Media Awards and Leaders in Convenience
CStore Decisions January 2021 Digital Edition is sponsored by ZiiP-Lab. CStore Decisions outlines best practices on social media for 2021 and highlights the c-stores performing best on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. CStore Decisions, for the ninth consecutive year, is recognizing convenience store chains standing out on social media. If there was ever a year where…
December 2020 Issue: 40 Under 40
CStore Decisions December 2020 Digital Edition is sponsored by Swisher. 2020 has brought challenges to the c-store industry like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic arrived in spring, changing the way retailers approach their businesses and escalating digital disruption. Stores have scrambled to keep customers and employees safe with social distancing decals, masks and plexiglass shields.…
November 2020: Parker’s Honored as 2020 Chain of the Year
CStore Decisions November 2020 Digital Edition is sponsored by Smuckers The Savannah, Ga., chain is the 31st winner of the most prestigious award in the industry for convenience retailing. It’s 10 a.m. on a Wednesday, and after 44 years in the industry, no one would blink if Parker’s Founder and CEO Greg Parker took some…
October 2020 Issue: Power Market Jump-Starts Expansion
CStore Decisions October 2020 Digital Edition is sponsored by Swisher The family-owned company is growing its network of company-owned stores and ExtraMile locations, while launching a wholesale branch, proprietary delivery service, loyalty program and developing its first cashierless store. H&S Energy has soared to a 112-store operation since its debut in the mid-’90s, and it’s…
September 2020 Issue: Foxtrot Unveils National Growth Strategy
CStore Decisions September 2020 Digital Edition is sponsored by Smuckers At a time when many convenience stores were reeling amid the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago-based c-store chain Foxtrot watched its revenues double from January to May. Key to that success was Foxtrot’s ability to elevate its existing digital platform — which has…
August 2020 Issue: C-Stores Navigate Uncertain Economic Landscape
Amid a pandemic that’s shifting norms and shopping habits, retailers nationwide must grapple with an economy in flux. As early as February, Raymond Huff predicted COVID-19 would impact his Russell’s Convenience Stores business. What he didn’t anticipate was a whopping 85% drop in sales when states locked down. The president of Denver-based HJB Convenience Corp.,…
July 2020 Issue: 2020 Chains to Watch
CStore Decisions July 2020 Digital Edition is sponsored by Hunt Brothers Pizza CITGO, Charge Up and Dandy Mini Marts head this year’s class of innovative chains energizing and expanding their brands. In just 10 short years, Charge Up has grown from a singlestore operation to a 40-store chain with locations in Texas and Louisiana, with…
June 2020 Issue: Tobacco’s 2020 Trajectory
Rising sales are boosting retailer optimism across the category, but regulatory hurdles loom. Tobacco sales have proved a bright spot for many convenience stores during the COVID-19 pandemic, but while c-stores anticipate robust tobacco sales for the remainder of 2020, retailers are bracing for the potential chill of regulatory headwinds. As the pandemic first hit…
May 2020 issue: Choice Market’s Omnichannnel Approach
The tech forward company is crafting a uniform experience across platforms while leading with prepared foods and investing in cutting-edge technology, including its own delivery service and vision-based autonomous checkout. Choice Market isn’t letting a pandemic impede its plans for 2020. If anything, COVID-19 has increased consumer demand for seamless delivery of convenience products, fresh…