EZ Energy USA At a Glance Headquarters: Mansfield, Ohio Stores: 92 (68 company-operated and 24 dealer-operated sites) Total Estimated Sales: $480 million Markets of Operation: northeast and central Ohio, Pittsburgh Retail Brands: ampm, Easy Trip Fuel Brands: BP, Marathon Fuel Volume: 160 million gallons annually While many marketers are struggling to ride out this economic…

Whether it’s phone cards, credit cards or prepaid gaming cards being promoted by 7-Eleven, prepaid sales are hot, and retailers would be wise to get in on the action. For example, c-store operators with a high number of ethnic customers could capitalize on the growing reloadable cell phone card market. The top destinations for overseas…

BP At a Glance BP is one of the largest integrated oil companies in the world, with an estimated global market share of around 3% of oil & gas production and 4% of refining capacity in the major global markets in which it operates. Its U.S. retailing brands are BP, ARCO and ampm. Global sales:…

Being green. You can’t go a day without hearing about it. Escalating energy costs and a renewed awareness of the environment have put green initiatives at the top of the agenda for the global convenience industry. Retail industry leaders such as Walmart and Tesco are setting targets to reduce energy use by at least 20%.…

Energy Crash Ahead? Driven by studies that demonstrate the adverse impacts high levels of caffeine have, a “truth-in-labeling” movement is gaining strength that may strongly impact energy drink retailers from Maine to California and could raise liability issues for the fastest-growing products in the cold vault.Because energy drinks are marketed as dietary supplements rather than…

Why waste anything—especially energy? Newer technologies and out-of-the-box thinking are helping trim energy costs, while plain old smart management can bring additional savings. “Most of the time, quite frankly, store operators haven’t even done the most basic stuff that could be saving them quite a bit on operating costs,” lamented John Noel, president of Energy…

Don Glenn and Jake Leatherman had just wrapped up three store visits to Atlas Oil customers in southern Michigan when their conversation turned from coffee to a slightly more slippery substance: petroleum. “Four dollars,” said Glenn, director of retail sales at Taylor, Mich.-based fuel distributor Atlas. “That’s where everybody’s world changed.” Leatherman, Atlas’ senior retail…

A visit to BP’s ampm stores a few years ago convinced Simon that BP’s established ampm brand—and its decision to divest itself of stores in the Midwest—was an opportunity for Atlas to acquire stores for its own dealers, as well as operate more stores on its own. In December 2007, Atlas forged an alliance with…