FALL RIVER, N.J. -- Former professional Turkish soccer player Salim G ar ar, owner of seven gas stations, has organized more than 50 Turkish station owners from New York and New Jerseyrepresenting more than 200 stations among themto form a buying consortium, reported The Herald News.
The consortium's first effort will be to buy concessions for member stations and convenience stores directly from their own distributor, a move they hope will eventually lead to their own brand of c-stores, regardless of which oil company they represent.
G ar ar said small, locally owned stations are being eaten up by oil conglomerates with massive c-store chains. The first step is to save our business. We are suffering. A lot of people are losing their businesses, he told the newspaper.
G ar ar's stations are located in the New York metropolitan area. The small guy gets killed, and the [oil] company gets billions and billions, he said.
Mehmet Ibis, a Turkish immigrant who runs a Gulf station in Piscataway, N.J., said he's eager to join. It's a good idea, just to stick together, he said. I got to buy from somebody, and if you have an organization like that, I'd rather buy from them.
The idea of a Turkish-run concession and gasoline cooperative first came up four years ago, according to G ar ar, but has taken on more urgency recently, as gasoline and oil prices rose. He said attendance at planning meetings continues to grow. If we eliminate the middle man, we'll have direct buying power, and that way, our profit margin will be much bigger than it is today, he said.
If the c-store initiative is successful, G ar ar said the group hopes to eventually leverage its power to buy and distribute gasoline cheaply among Turkish-owned stations.
The most important part of this project is to start by being a wholesaler in the convenience store part, he told the paper. The gas part is very hardthat will be the second part.
G ar ar said the consortium would be easier for dealer-owned stations to sign on to, as well as those who have flexible leases with oil companies that allow them to choose what brand of c-store they put in.
Although gasoline retailer associations don't keep ownership records by ethnicity, G ar ar and others said Turkish immigrants have carved a significant niche in the industry throughout the area over the past decade, said the report. Several Turkish-born station owners in North Jersey said the situation was more complicated there than in New York. Sebahattin Dogan, of West Paterson, a native of Turkey who runs a Gulf station in Wayne, said Turks in New Jersey often lease their properties. In Long Island, a lot of guys own their propertyin New Jersey, it's different, he told the paper.
Dogan said he would like to join the consortium, but would be unable to, due to his restrictive lease with his oil supplier. I'd want to join, but in my position, it's hard; it's impossible, he said. It's an expensive business, you can only afford to be in it through a big company.
Jack Tabibian, a Turkish-born Armenian who runs stations in Little Falls and Fairfield, said even if independent owners signed on, the real challenge would be in getting so many business owners to agree to the same terms. I even thought about doing something like this, but the kind of people we aregas station ownerseverybody's a boss, Tabibian told the paper. Anyone who is successful doesn't really want to hear from other people how to do stuff.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.