WINONA, Minn. -- Severson Oil Co. said it will sell five convenience stores in Lake City, Winona and Rochester, Minn., to Sinclair Oil Corp., reported The Winona Daily News.
The Winona-based company plans to hold onto its La Crosse, Wis., station and continue selling its Mileage-branded gasoline, as it has for the past three years, the report added.
Owner Tom Severson said he felt his stores needed more marketing support than Severson Oil could provide. He said he had planned in May to switch his stations' gasoline to the Mileage [image-nocss] brand after ConocoPhillips stopped supplying fuel in Minnesota. After reviewing other options, Severson said he settled on selling to Sinclair because of its family legacy and private ownership.
They're really nice people, and they should fit in well with Winona, Severson told the newspaper. The primary reason I chose these people is because they respect their employees and they will continue to offer employment to my employees.
Severson declined to comment on the amount of the sale; he said the deal will be final August 1.
Salt Lake City-based Sinclair Oil has more than 2,600 stations. The company plans to hire all 50 employees who work at the five Severson stations.
We're excited. Severson has great people, Larry Rogers, Sinclair's retail marketing manager, told the paper. We will start painting and replacing the Conoco logos next week, but the people inside the store will be the same.
Severson Oil will transport the Sinclair gasoline and continue to offer its propane, lubricants, home heating, trucking, commercial, farm and industrial services, the report said. This will help us enhance the services that we perform for all our customers and give us more time to work for them and appreciate their business, Severson said.
Sinclair plans to offer customers credit card services, car wash discounts and competitive prices, Rogers said. And, of course, the company's signature green dinosaur. You will be seeing dinosaurs, he said The dinosaur is back.
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