INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. & FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Gulf Oil LP has announced a new branded partnership agreement with Lucky Oil Co. of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., marking the return of the motor fuel brand to the state for the first time in two decades. Lucky Oil will convert six of its retail gasoline stations in greater Minneapolis to the Gulf brand immediately.
Scott Stevens, president and chief manager of Lucky Oil, which was founded in the spring of 2010 welcomes taking the lead for bringing Gulf Oil back to his community. "The emergence of a new, clean and professional [image-nocss] Gulf image that is attractive to the motoring public helped drive our decision. We see the opportunity and benefit to build our business with the Gulf brand," he said.
The new Gulf-branded stations are Lucky's stations in Andover, Stillwater (2 sites) and Eagan; Caroline's Market in Eden Prairie; and Renaissance Market in St. Paul. It is also anticipated that two additional Lucky locations will be added by the end of this year.
"Consumers in Minnesota are very loyal and we look forward to building a new relationship with them," said Gulf Oil senior vice president and chief sales and marketing officer Rick Dery. "Our expansion reflects our determination to support the brand in the Midwestern states."
Gulf Oil and Lucky Oil said that it is an especially opportune time for the Gulf brand's re-emergence in the state, as Marathon Oil Corp. just announced the sale of its Sppedway SuperAmerica locations in the Minnesota market, inlcuding thesale of more than 140 stations. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.) A Marathon spokesperson, however, assured CSP that it gasoline brand will maintain a presence in Minnesota.
"The competitive landscape in motor fuels here has provided an opening for a new and vibrant brand like Gulf Oil, a brand that provides instant credibility and an opportunity to excel in customer service," Stevens added. "These first six stations are just the beginning of our relationship, and I'm excited to watch the Minneapolis marketplace change."
Lucky Oil is based in Inver Grove Heights, Minn.
Gulf Oil, based in Framingham, Mass., is now a national branded supplier of motor fuels throughout the United States and its territories. It remains one of the Northeast's largest wholesalers of refined petroleum products. Gulf Oil distributes motor fuels through a network of more than 2,000 branded gasoline retail centers, 12 proprietary oil terminals, and a network of more than 70 other supply terminals. It supplies gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel and kerosene through its terminal network. Through its unbranded subsidiary, Great Island Energy, Gulf Oil also supplies petroleum products as well as risk management and financial services to industrial, commercial, and independent retail firms.
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