BP's ampm Climbs Charts

Brand rises on list of Entrepreneur's "Fastest-Growing Franchises" Feb. 12, 2009

LA PALMA, Calif. -- Entrepreneur magazine is recognizing ampm's growth by ranking the convenience store brand at No. 57 on its list of "Fastest-Growing Franchises." That is a jump of almost 20 positions from last year. BP's ampm is the only c-store to move up the magazine's list, the company said. And ampm is the only c-store brand owned by an integrated oil and gas company to make the list.

Dallas-based retailer 7-Eleven ranked No. 73 on the magazine's list. Birmingham, Ala.-based c-store chicken brand Chester's International was No. 95 on the list.

Besides [image-nocss] its No. 57 ranking, ampm kept its slot at No. 35 on Entrepreneur's "2009 Franchise 500" list

Other retailers included Laval, Quebec-based Circle K at No. 9 and 7-Eleven at No. 30; Richmond, Va.-based c-store pizza brand Hot Stuff Foods placed at No. 81.

Ampm also ranked No. 30 on the magazines list of America's top 200 global franchises. Circle K placed at No. 9 and Chester's ranked No. 63 on that list.

Andrew Baird, ampm's vice president of marketing, said why ampm is rising in the rankings of franchise lists: "We've been offering hot food and quality gasoline since 1978. Over the years, we have developed and refined that offer, focusing on what the customer wants, doing it day and day out, and doing it in a fun way that the customer really gets."

Entrepreneur magazine's rankings of the fastest-growing franchises appear in the magazine's February 2009 issue. The rankings are based on the number of new franchise units added in the United States and Canada from 2007 to 2008. Each ranking is based on data from the previous two years. For example, the 2008 ranking was based on growth from 2006 to 2007, and the 2007 ranking was based on growth from 2005 to 2006.

Click here for the complete list.

Ampm c-stores also have been recognized in the Franchise Times "Top 200," the company said.

The ampm brand was founded in 1978 in Southern California by ARCO, which was acquired by BP in 2000. ARCO-branded ampm stores are currently found in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Arizona; BP-branded ampm stores are located in Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Atlanta. BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline every year to U.S. consumers through 13,000 retail outlets. BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corp., Atlantic Richfield (ARCO), ARAL and Burmah Castrol. BP's retail operations are headquartered in La Palma, Calif.

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