Convenience store owners need to work more closely with suppliers and wholesalers to get better supply contracts and offer consumers more competitive prices. Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Convenience store owners need to work more closely with suppliers and wholesalers to get better supply contracts and offer consumers more competitive prices. A plaque in Ray Johnson’s…
Earhart Announces Retirement
Handee Marts’ 30-year veteran to retire on June 30, 2012. Bruce Earhart, vice president of marketing for Handee Marts Inc. a domestic licensee of 7-Eleven, announced his retirement effective on June 30, 2012 to pursue other interests. At the time of his retirement Earhart will have served Handee Marts for 30 years with increasing levels…
Independent C-store Retailers To Convene At Expo
The annual Independent C-Store Expo (I-C-Expo), hosted by Royal Buying Group Inc., is coming to Illinois this spring. This year’s expo will feature a trade show floor and meeting space, networking and educational seminars on various topics intended to help all convenience store operators. Speakers will include nationally recognized industry experts, supplier representatives, and a very…
Turning a Foodservice Profit
C-store operators looking to grow their foodservice programs just may be overlooking, or at least underestimating, one of the best tools at their disposal: the humble roller grill. As in-store menus have expanded to include fresh foods and entrees, the time-honored roller grill has quietly continued to please customers and bolster bottom lines thanks to…
Creating Supply Chain Efficiencies
Getting products to stores more efficiently is now a major focus for all major retailers and distributors. Better distribution means lower costs and higher margins—both items high on c-store owners’ agendas these days—when customers are clutching their wallets more tightly than they have in years. “There are two ways to make money: increase prices or…
The Many Hats of a Marketing Manager
As the sales and marketing manager for Jaco Oil Co., which runs 53 Fastrip stores in California and Arizona, Fred Faulkner’s job is a busy one. Faulkner holds the responsibility of buying for all categories, selecting in-store equipment from deli cases to fountain machines, shaping the deals for purchases, creating the point-of-sale for promotions and…
Juices And Teas
TOP PERFORMERS Lipton (PepsiCo) Tropicana (PepsiCo) Minute Maid (Coca-Cola Co.) HONORABLE MENTIONS AriZona Beverage Co. SoBe (PepsiCo) While innovation is a valued component to every category, the juices and teas segment of packaged beverages seems to be particularly prone to new twists and creative concepts. Largely in response to consumers looking for more functionality and…
Bottled Water
TOP PERFORMERS Aquafina (PepsiCo) Dasani (Coca-Cola Co.) Nestle Waters (All Brands) HONORABLE MENTIONS Fiji Evian (GBE) Bottled water continues to grow at an unprecedented pace and the category’s popularity is attracting the attention of more than just retailers. The focus on bottled water by revenue-hungry legislatures and environmental special-interest groups will remain an ongoing story…
Fully Prepared Hot & Cold Sandwiches
TOP PERFORMERS Deli Express (E. A. Sween Co.) Landshire Inc. Pierre Foods HONORABLE MENTIONS Jimmy Dean (Sara Lee Foodservice) Lettieri’s (Hot Stuff Foods) Proprietary foodservice programs get a lot of love and admiration for their relentless innovation and ingenuity, and even branded fast-food concepts tend to get their share of attention from convenience operators who…