ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A major retail conversion effort is underway in the Pacific Northwest. In early May, as reported in CSP Daily News, CHS Inc. closed a deal to acquire 33 Zip Trip convenience stores in the Spokane, Wash., area, and immediately began converting the stores from the 76 brand to the Cenex energy brand.
The initial conversion process includes installing new signs and lighting, and updating graphics on canopies and fuel pumps. When complete, the stores will all carry the updated Cenex brand image.
"We expect to have almost all of these stores converted within just a few [image-nocss] weeks," said Bob Schulte, CHS retail financial operations manager. "At CHS, we have the people, the processes and the partners to quickly and efficiently convert multi-location retailers to the Cenex brand, with minimal disruptions to customers. Because payment solutions are so critical to today's c-store business, we are also working to ensure a smooth and fast transition to Cenex proprietary credit cards."
CHS is supplying the stores with Cenex gasoline and diesel fuel from its Laurel, Mont., refinery, and with a full array of retail services such as training and marketing support.
The newly acquired Zip Trip locations—together with three other Cenex retail locations operated by an independent dealer—make Spokane the single largest metropolitan market for Cenex convenience stores in the United States.
CHS is a diversified energy, grains and foods company owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders, from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest and from the Canadian border to Texas. It supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex-brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.
Click hereto read CSP Daily News coverage of CHS Inc.'s acquisition of the Zip Trip sites.
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