People in the convenience-store industry are like family and need to be treated as such, Damian Wyatt, director of merchandise sales and category management at convenience-store chain MAPCO, told a room full of category managers, regional executives and their supplier partners at CSP’s Convenience Retailing University (CRU) in Nashville, Tennessee, last week.
During a fireside chat on Leadership Strategies to Elevate Team Performance during the closing general session of the three-day event, Wyatt took the stage with moderator Abbey Lewis, vice president of content strategy at Informa Connect, to offer guidance for managers in the convenience-store industry to form exceptional teams and drive success.
“The folks at MAPCO are family and these relationships need to be fostered,” he said when asked about the role effective team dynamics play in shaping company culture.
In November, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Laval, Quebec, and Majors Management, Lawrenceville, Georgia, closed on their respective acquisitions of MAPCO Express stores from Compañía de Petróleos de Chile S.A. (COPEC), whichsplit the c-store portfolio. And with all mergers and acquisitions, change is inevitable but changing your leadership style is not, Wyatt said.
- Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2, COPEC/MAPCO is No. 27 and Majors Management is No. 118 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
“Your team is always watching you,” he said. “You're a leader, so be genuine and don't just play inside the four walls.”
“The biggest tip I can give to anyone is don’t ever change your leadership style,” he said. Instead, Wyatt told the audience there will always be adjustments or modifications. "Just go with what the new leaders request or are asking and if you feel it isn’t right for the business, it’s OK to push back professionally and provide the basis of why you believe that's the right tactic to take," he said.
During the chat, a lively Q&A included an audience question of how to motivate team members? Wyatt answered by saying that taking an interest outside of work when it comes to your team can help foster trust among team members.
With retail media network and AI now dominating the headlines in the convenience store space, Wyatt believes one-to-one interaction is still essential in convenience stores.
“Technology will tell you a lot about your guests and what their preferences are,” he said, but added: “technology won’t smile for a customer. You have to have that face to face collaboration for guests.”
MAPCO, based in Franklin, Tennessee, has locations in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi.
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