CSP Magazine
Competitive Watch: Fruit of the Boom
An apple a day may keep the doctor away. But apples priced at only 99 cents a pound, six organic romaine hearts advertised at $5, and a pound of ground turkey for $1.99 keep the customers coming back in droves. At least that’s the hope—and hoopla—fueling Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, an upstart grocery chain that’s looking to steal thunder from fresh-food- centric stalwarts such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and carve out a healthy niche in the Midwest.
CSP Magazine
Diesel, Part Deux
Once reserved for truckstops and travel centers, diesel is wending its way into convenience-store locations. From NOCO sites in upstate New York to Wawa and Dash-In across the Mid-Atlantic region, diesel is not only winning space, it’s also capturing featured placement across the forecourt.
Today’s convenience-store forecourt is rapidly transforming into a commercial enterprise, making filling one’s tank a merely utilitarian function. More exciting—and potentially more lucrative—is mobile-friendly dispenser technology that seeks to integrate the fuel island with the store and draw more motorists inside.