CITGO is rolling ahead with site refreshes at its dealer locations, from the store exterior to the forecourt design, through its Elevate and Illuminate initiatives that take CITGO’s brand appearance to the next level. At the same time, it’s upgrading its loyalty program and piloting electric vehicle charging as it looks toward the future.
CITGO first introduced its Centennial image in 2010 in celebration of its 100-year anniversary.
Ten years later, in 2020, CITGO began enhancing its Centennial image with the introduction of its Illuminate forecourt design, which includes a fresh look for the fuel canopy and gas pumps. Simultaneously, it launched the Illuminate Reimage Program, through which it began upgrading dealer and marketer sites from the existing Centennial image to the new Illuminate brand image, which features brushed aluminum elements on the canopy and dispensers instead of white. It also includes canopy eyebrow lighting and under-canopy reflective paint to ensure the CITGO Trimark symbol stands out.
Since then, CITGO has been moving full-steam ahead reimaging sites. In 2023, CITGO converted 715 locations to the new brand image, and it expects to update an additional 550 sites in 2024. By the end of 2024, CITGO plans to have 76% of its sites “illuminated,” with 100% of locations switched over to the new design by the end of 2026.
“Illuminate offers a really a low-cost option (to dealers and marketers) to upgrade their image,” said Greg Caponegro, general manager of Light Oils Sales for CITGO Petroleum, told CStore Decisions. “There’s no upfront cost to the dealer or the marketer because everything is amortized. And because it’s such a great look and a great image, it increases the volume outside and inside the store.”
The new design helps to brighten the forecourt and the backcourt.
“(Marketers) like the fact that it illuminates at night and makes people feel much safer walking into their stores as well as fueling at the dispensers,” Caponegro said.
Overall, by upgrading to Illuminate, sites see a 7-10% increase in fuel volume, with many seeing a 30% or higher increase in volume.
Elevating Store Exteriors
CITGO is also paying attention to how it can help “elevate” store exteriors and interiors. In 2022, CITGO piloted the Elevate program, which focuses on refreshing the exterior store design, fully launching the program in the Gulf Coast region in 2023. Some 75 sites are slated for Elevate upgrades in 2024.
“It’s really a low-cost, high-quality solution for marketers and dealers that don’t need a raze and rebuild, but need some help updating their store exterior,” Caponegro said. “The dealers and the marketers have really taken to it. We help them to amortize that over the term of the contract, and so there’s no out-of-pocket (cost) for them.”
Often, the store interiors will receive an update to match the upscale look in the forecourt. The new design features both a brown and tan color scheme as well as a gray color scheme. The refresh isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, with some sites receiving new paint while others gain a full brick makeover.
“There are all different (options) depending on how it lays out to your site and how the economics work out too. … We work with dealers to make it look as good as possible,” Caponegro said.
The addition of Elevate is bringing about a 12% increase in fuel volume to stores, while merchandise sales see an uptick of about 20%.
Debranding & Onboarding
The two programs together have helped increase CITGO’s brand impact. To be considered for a refresh, stores must show that they’re up to CITGO’s standards and willing to invest in the future of their site.
About two years ago, CITGO put together a plan to debrand sites that were not willing to invest in the quality standards of the brand. The focus was on removing under-performing sites in exchange for bigger-presence locations. CITGO has initiated about 50% of its planned debrands to date.
“A lot of these places were not really fit for the fight,” Caponegro said, referring to struggling sites that had repeatedly failed mystery shops without implementing changes and weren’t representing the brand well.
The move has brought more visibility to the CITGO brand.
“It shows the marketers and dealers that we’re not going to just take anything from you. We’re going to want quality locations,” he said, adding that now CITGO sees more multisite portfolios with quality locations joining the brand.
In 2019, for every new site added CITGO debranded four locations. Now, year-to-date through May 3, CITGO has achieved a nearly 1:1 ratio — meaning that for just about every newly added location, it debrands one site — while growing 2.6 million in gallon volume thanks to onboarding larger volume sites.
“It’s been it’s been a great turnaround for the brand,” Caponegro said.
Going forward, the Elevate initiative will remain focused mainly in the Gulf Coast, although CITGO does work with sites on a one-off basis in other regions if the sites show it would work economically.
Gulf Coast Investment
CITGO didn’t historically enforce high-quality standards in the Gulf Coast, resulting in challenges for its brand image in the region. As a result, a lot of CITGO’s debrands have been clustered in the Gulf Coast area.
With the introduction of Elevate and Illuminate, CITGO is now featuring more attractive locations in the area.
“We want those flagships down there (in the Gulf region) because our Lake Charles refinery offloads into the Gulf Coast,” he said. Plus, competition from other big brands is heating up in the area.
As part of the Gulf Coast prioritization, CITGO also restructured its sales team over the last few years and recruited new employees, including five new women territory sales managers to help diversify the team.
Loyalty Focus
Loyalty program enhancement is also a top priority for CITGO this year and, in alignment with that goal, it introduced a loyalty organization in Q1 of 2024, bringing in dedicated employees to focus on customer enhancements and technology upgrades.
CITGO has historically offered two apps, its CITGO Pay app and its Club CITGO app. To simply the experience for customers, the former is now being integrated into the Club CITGO loyalty app, and the new-and-improved app will soft launch before rolling out nationwide by Q4 of 2024.
“It’s a must-have to have a good loyalty program, but we want to be best in class. That’s our goal,” Caponegro said.
The Club CITGO loyalty program is also getting an update. “We’re testing things now in different markets, like a premium rebate and a VIP-level thresholds for the consumer,” he said.
CITGO has also been working with a consulting company on best practices for its loyalty initiative and strategies to drive app adoption, which are paying off.
“Eighty percent of our dealers are on the program, which is great because you need that scale to make sure customers can go to any CITGO and use the loyalty program,” he said.
That level of loyalty program adoption has exceeded expectations for the brand.
“The dealers that are fully into loyalty are seeing less volume erosion (compared to the industry as a whole),” he said. Across the industry, Caponegro pointed out that overall fuel volume is down about 6%, but CITGO marketers using the loyalty program saw only a 2-3% dip in volume.
Previously, the Club CITGO program worked more like a coupon program, and it didn’t include a rollback at the pump. “It was difficult for the dealer to execute out in the field,” he said.
Now, customers input their phone number to activate their rewards and the price is rolled back at the pump. The app also includes vendor-funded discounts on popular items from major brands.
EV Charging Pilot
Kevin Kinney, CITGO’s general manager of brand equity development, has been heading up CITGO’s electric vehicle (EV) charging initiative.
In January, CITGO launched an EV charging pilot program at one site in Michigan, which has performed well. Now it’s set to expand the pilot in 2024.
Not all locations will qualify for EV charging, and going forward, CITGO plans to evaluate each site to determine if EV has the potential to bring in a return on investment.
As most retailers know, sites closest to the highways and freeways tend to see the most demand for EV charging, and that’s where CITGO is currently focusing its EV initiatives. Interested sites also must have the available space to fit the charging program.
CITGO offers a profit-share through its EV program, where there are no out-of-pocket costs to marketers, and they receive a certain percentage of revenues brought in, while CITGO gains a smaller percentage. CITGO works to match dealers with EV companies that are using grants to offset costs.
About a dozen sites across CITGO’s total footprint have qualified for the EV program in 2024 so far, and those sites are expected to give CITGO a better proof of concept and confirm if the program makes sense to grow.
POS Upgrades
CITGO is also committed to point-of-sale (POS) and security upgrades and investments.
CITGO takes seriously ensuring its marketers are protected from fraud. “We’ve been very proactive in making sure that we have all the right software versions (for its POS platforms),” he said.
The chain is currently completing upgrades with its POS vendors and testing the upcoming 2025 versions in its POS Lab in its Houston corporate office to iron out any issues in advance.
“Nothing’s ever perfect, but we want to make sure that it’s close to perfect before we release it to our marketers and dealers,” he said.
Giving Back
CITGO has been raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) since 1986, raising about $272 million dollars for MDA over the past 38 years. In 2023 alone, CITGO raised $2.9 million for the cause. CITGO marketers and employees really get behind the cause with golf outings, bowling, auctions and other fundraisers to support the MDA.
Looking ahead, Caponegro said CITGO has a lot of positive momentum. “We’re getting looks at sites and packages we never did before because of how we’re investing in the brand and how we’re taking care of our dealers and our marketers,” he said. “It’s a great time for CITGO right now.”
