WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Though companies like Alimentation Couche-Tard and The Pantry have taken headlines for their acquisition efforts, many companies have quietly amassed the potential to further the industry's latest wave of acquisition.
One of these companies is Winston-Salem, N.C.-based WilcoHess LLC. While investigating the cover story for the May issue of CSP Magazine on industry consolidators, staff discovered a lot of interest surrounding this company"one whose recent merger has transformed its economies of scale, placing it among companies [image-nocss] to watch going forward.
WilcoHess roots date back to the early 1960s, when A.T. Williams Oil Co. founder Arthur T. Williams bought six full-service stations in North Carolina. In 2001, A.T. Williams Oil partnered with Amerada Hess Corp., Woodbridge, N.J., in a joint venture, thereby creating WilcoHess. Since its inception, the company has made several key acquisitions to build its store count along the East Coast, predominantly in the Southeast. Today the company has more than 300 Wilco convenience stores and travel plazas in seven states.
WilcoHess added 50 locations in January 2004 from the now-defunct Service Distributors, Albemarle, N.C. But its most significant move to expand came last June, when the company merged with Greenville, N.C.-based Trade Oil Co. The merger brought more than 100 stores throughout eastern North Carolina into the WilcoHess fold.
Given the concentration of stores in the Carolinas and a population boom in the Southeast, WilcoHess is well-positioned for future expansion. Most growth experienced by chains in the state, according to Gary Harris, executive vice president of the North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association, comes through acquisition rather than building ground-ups. A handful of independent, single-site operators and recent market entrants such as Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. are notable exceptions.
[WilcoHess] has been through several acquisitions recently, and I see them still growing, Harris told CSP Daily News. I think they know they have to be a certain size to compete, and they have a strong regional look that enables them to compete with anybody. Their stations are clean and well-maintained, and they are very price-competitive.
Fellow Carolina operators have watched WilcoHess match the region's growth. John Strickland Jr., president of 16-store Wayne Oil, Goldsboro, N.C., calls WilcoHess definitely a chain to watch.
Watch for the May issue of CSP magazine for more information about the industry's top consolidators. To read the previous installment in this series, click here.
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