Convenience stores are now majorplayers in the foodservice business. In a fewshort years, the industry has shattered many of the perception problems that marked its initial forayinto the food business and, if anything, it is driving thecharge toward convenient, fresher foods. Chains like Sheetz, Nice N Easy, Wawa andQuikTrip are all among the innovators being…

Patience doesn't come easy, but it can haveits rewards. Nowhere is that more evident thanby observing the foodservice programs at Exxon Mobil Corp. and Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes. Bothchains have refined their food segments over severalyears to come up with the right menu to meet the needsof core customers, and that's why Convenience StoreDecisions…

Many companies profess to be all about their customers and employees. Spend anytime at QuikTrip, the subject of this month's cover story, and you'll see its devotion to these two vital retail components is sincere and palpable. I was fortunate enough to spend a day last monthat QuikTrip's headquarters with Mike Thornbrugh, public and governmental…

Finding the right supplier partners is crucial to convenience store retailers that is only enhanced in this era ofultra competitiveness. That's why Convenience Store Decisions set out to identify the suppliers and manufacturersretailers say are doing the best job meeting their needs as partof our second annual Reader's Choice Awards. The awards are based on…

If there is one thing I have learned to become good at inmy personal life and my career it's learning from mymistakes. In one of my recent hockey games, trailinglate in the third period 3-1, I was able to score off a faceoff—a pretty backhand shot off the crossbar—to narrow thedeficit to 3-2. A few…

In the battle to be the first to market with new products,retailers face fierce competition from other industryoperators and cross-channel marketers. Despite the battle for that share of wallet, chains have come to depend ontheir distributors and wholesalers for the information theyneed to make smart business choices. What is important for convenience store owners toremember…

Let me take you back to a small convenience store in an unassuming San Ramon, Calif. neighborhood. That's where Valero's retail operations began in earnest seven years ago. There was no fanfare, and hardly any press coverage, save for one reporter from New York making the cross-country trip to get the story. In retrospect, I'm…

There are few things I enjoy more than hitting the road to watch retailers in action. That's why I was particularly pleased by Chevron's invitation to spend a few days at company headquarters in lovely San Ramon, Calif., to learn all about its 2006 Image Refresh program. The operations team, Shariq Yosufzai, president of Chevron…

Experts are warning that fuel prices are likely toremain high until January 2007 as demand for petroleum products soars due to market shortages causedby the damaged pipelines out of BP

Just two months after Convenience Store Decisions was first to announce details of Tesco's foray into the U.S. market, we were able to get an exclusive tour of FamilyMart's operations in Southern California with Shiro (Sho) Inoue, president and CEO of Famima Corp., the Japanese retailer's U.S. subsidiary. Inoue's candid interview, part of our "2006…