Convenience store retailers are still concerned over the FDA’s involvement in smokeless tobacco, but many expressed optimism that the category can continue to thrive. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. While taxes and regulations haven’t impacted sales of smokeless tobacco products as much as some had predicted, it remains up to retailers to continue aggressively marketing…
Updating the State of the Industry
NACS Chairman Jeff Miller discusses card fees, fuel and the future of convenience stores. By John Lofstock, Editor. Jeff Miller, president of Miller Oil Co. in Virginia, wears many hats. He is an oilman, an industry advocate and a leader. For the past year, he has also been the chairman of NACS, which could…
Exercise Caution on Fuel Tanks
With retailers still unsure of what the future holds for fuels in the U.S., investing in new USTs is a risky proposition. By John Lofstock, Editor. It’s been nearly four years since then-President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act into law, requiring at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel be…
Pemmican To Introduce New Products At NACS Show
Pemmican Beef Jerky plans to introduce three new product lines to the market during the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show in Chicago, where Pemmican – Marfood USA is inviting retailers, distributors and wholesalers to visit them at NACS booth 540 between Oct. 2 and Oct. 4, 2011. Pemmican will be showing its new…
Is Big Oil Losing its Drawing Power?
For many, many years the power of the Big Oil brands was indisputable. They owned the refineries, the stations and the credit card networks to boot. While my father was an Exxon dealer and jobber for more than 30 years I distinctly remember seeing Shell and Texaco credit cards lying around the house. In those…
Obama Stops Smog Standards Implementation
In a win for small businesses, EPA’s smog restrictions are currently on hold. On Friday, President Obama pulled back proposed smog standards that would have forced states and communities nationwide to reduce local air pollution or face federal penalties, the Washington Post reported. GOP lawmakers called the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) restrictions for ground-level…
ConocoPhillips Begins Rolling Out KickBack Loyalty Program
ConocoPhillips is officially rolling out the KickBack Points Coalition Loyalty Program to branded marketers through a series of Road Show meetings starting today in Seattle. The meeting in Seattle will be the first of 28 Road Show meetings starting on the West Coast, before moving into the other ConocoPhillips markets. This program is a turnkey…
Aloha Petroleum Unveils C-Store Prototype
Aloha Petroleum Ltd., the Hawaii-based gas retailer and convenience store operator, has unveiled the first ‘ground-up’ version of a new prototype design for its convenience store-fuel sites that highlights the chain’s local roots. Designed by CBX, the strategic branding and retail design consultancy, the 3,000-square-foot store and adjoining gas islands with five pumps opened in…
Virginia C-store Owners Converge At Expo
Independent store owners find power in a united front. Virginia convenience store owners, on July 28, flocked to the Richmond Raceway Complex in eastern Henrico County to view the latest products and services from vendors at an expo sponsored by the Virginia Asian American Store Owners Association, the Richmond-Times Dispatch reported. This year the organization—just…
NACS Releases Data Fact Book
The NACS State of the Industry of 2010 Data Fact Book is now available. The 24th edition of the NACS Fact Book provides a detailed statistical account of industry data over the past several years — or in some cases, decades — as well as a historical recap of the industry and key definitions and…