C-store sales jumped 5% in 2009 despite the economic conditions, reduction in overall consumer spending. Convenience store in-store sales grew 4.9% in 2009, one of the lone bright spots in a battered U.S. economy that saw overall retail sales drop 7%, according to figures released today by NACS. The industry numbers were announced in Chicago…
Buzzing Over Beer Sales
State of beer: Despite a strong outlook for 2010, U.S. beer shipments dropped by 2.2% in 2009. Thousands of Barrels Shipped $2,008 2,009 Change Anheuser-Busch $107,025 104,800 ($2,225.00) MillerCoors $64,500 63,300 ($1,200.00) Crown Imports $11,583 11,000 ($583.00) Heineken USA $8,960 8,575 ($385.00) Pabst $5,900 5,700 ($125.00) Selling beer, wine and other adult…
Anheuser-Busch Eliminates 90 Positions
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s U.S. division cut about 90 jobs in its sales division Thursday, including several vice presidents, some 350 other layoffs are occur in the coming months as part of the company’s restructuring, The Wall Street Journal reported. The job reductions linked to the reorganization are intended to help the world’s largest beer maker…
Colorado C-stores Take Step Toward Full-Strength Beer
Colorado’s convenience-store owners won a victory this week when the state’s House Business Affairs and Labor Committee approved a measure Wednesday that would allow c-stores of under 5,000 feet to sell products with a higher alcoholic content than the reduced-strength beer that they now are limited to selling, Denver Business Journal. The proposal won by a…
Kansas C-Stores Offer Compromise on Beer
A struggle over liquor laws in Kansas continues, the Kansas City Star reported. C-stores and grocery stores have for years sought the right to sell full-strength beer in Kansas, but liquor stores have successfully blocked the legislation. This year the grocers and convenience store owners came up with a compromise for state lawmakers-allow c-stores to…
Customers Stock Up For The Super Bowl
A recent survey by The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company, found that nine out of 10 households plan to watch Super Bowl XLIV at home or at a friend’s or relative’s house instead of watching it from a restaurant or bar. And for their home viewing, only 5% of households expect…
Aztex Buzzing Over Beer Sales
When beer sales were made legal last August in formerly dry Clay County, N.C., Aztex Fuel & Food Centers’ Hayesville location was ready to pounce, becoming the first c-store in the market to supply cold suds. Aztex, an experienced c-store marketer, knew from its other stores that alcohol sales can drive foot traffic and increase…
Competition Brews for Beer Sales
Convenience stores across the country are facing burgeoning competition on beer and wine sales from drug store giant Walgreens, which is branching back into the adult beverages category. Walgreens is adding beer sales due to “a direct response to consumer demand,” said Robert Elfinger, spokesperson for the Deerfield, Ill. drug store chain. It plans to…
Light Boost to Beer
Despite tough economic times, sales of beer and wine remain constant even though many consumers continue to “trade down the box,” according to Dan Roane, category manager of alcoholic beverages for Circle K’s Southeastern stores. “The below premium beer segment is doing much better than it has in years,” Roane said. “We actually are seeing…
Building a Beer Strategy
Beer sales have held relatively steady despite the economic maelstrom of the past several months, and one reason is that c-stores are asking for help. Operators are seeking and getting assistance of various sorts from their suppliers in an effort to make up for lost dollars. Help is coming in the form of promotional programs…