By John Lofstock, Editor Under CEO Alain Bouchard, Alimentation Couche-Tard has grown to be one of the largest convenience store operators in world. The Laval, Quebec-based chain today took its boldest step to date when it commenced an all-cash offer to acquire Casey’s General Stores, the Iowa chain currently operating 1,513 stores throughout the Midwest.…
Casey’s Uses Poison Pill Defense
Canadian c-store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard is calling on Casey’s General Stores to discuss its bid, as the Iowa-based chain moves to instead thwart the hostile acquisition, the Globe and Mail reported. “A meeting would be more productive than putting roadblocks, like a poison pill, in the path of our compelling proposal,” Couche-Tard said in a statement.…
Couche-Tard Quarterly Profit Down 23%
Alimentation Couche-Tard announced today that despite rising revenue, its quarterly profit dropped 23% due to lower U.S. gasoline margins, Reuters reported. Couche-Tard, North America’s second-biggest convenience store chain, operates more than 5,400 convenience stores, with some 3,600 of those also selling gasoline. The company earned $54.8 million, or 29 cents a share, in its third-quarter,…
Quiznos Looks To Grow Within C-store Channel
Quiznos sandwich chain has plans to increase its presence within convenience stores in 2010. In the recession, customers are busier and thriftier and have been increasing their visits to convenience stores while reducing their visits to restaurants. Restaurant visits began slowing in 2007 and then fell 3% last year while trips to convenience stores to…
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…
Circle K Acquires Eight Stores in North Carolina
Laval, Que.-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. through its Circle K Stores Inc. unit, is acquiring eight stores in central North Carolina from Accel Marketing LLC, The Wall Street Journal reported. The stores, which operate under the Accel banner, are company-operated and offer proprietary fuel. Once the purchase is complete, the stores will be operate under the…
Many Indiana C-stores To Card All Customers For Alcohol
The Indiana Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association announced Tuesday that 13 chains covering 458 Indiana locations will begin requiring their clerks to check the IDs of all customers purchasing alcohol, starting in the next few weeks, the Indiana Star reported. The announcement coincides with the state legislature’s review of several alcohol bills, including one…
7-Eleven No. 3 on Franchise 500
7-Eleven Inc. has earned the No. 3 spot on Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Franchise 500, which ranks top franchise opportunities in the U.S., Franchising.com reported. This is the chain’s 17th year to secure a spot on the Top 10 of the Franchise 500. 7-Eleven opened more than 1,800 stores around the world last year,…
Fighting Credit Card Costs
Is there relief ahead for exorbitant credit card fees? The answer is yes. But first, there’s a fight to be fought. According to NACS in Alexandria, Va., credit card payments have grown from 21% of transactions in 1995 to 49% today, with the trend expected to grow to more than 50% by next year. The…
Changes Abound at ExxonMobil
Since winning CSD’s Chain of the Year award in 2003, Exxon Mobil Corp. has been busy, beefing up it’s foodservice program at On the Run stores, then forming a new strategy that moves away from direct-store operations and beating out Wal-Mart for the top spot on the Fortune 500 list. But it’s the changes at…