DALLAS -- Mike Thornbrugh, spokesperson for Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip Corp., told CSP Daily News that QuikTrip has opened the 67th convenience store in its Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, division yesterday. The new c-store is located in Lake Dallas, Texas. It is a 5,000-square-foot store with 10 multi-pump dispensers (MPDs) for 20-car service. QuikTrip now owns and operates a total of 530 stores in nine states.
Separately, Thornbrugh sat down with The Wichita Eagle for a Q&A about the company's strategies to operate in the Wichita, Kansas, market, among other topics.[image-nocss]
Eagle: What is Wichita's role within QuikTrip?
Thornbrugh: "We've been committed to the Wichita community for a long, long time. In the bigger scheme of things, Wichita is very important to our company. It's an area in which we do very well, sure, but it gives our employees opportunities to grow within the company. It's not uncommon for employees to transfer all across the company and the Wichita division. We've made and continue to make a huge capital and human resources investment in Wichita. We're not going away."
Eagle: What does QuikTrip's future hold in Wichita?
Thornbrugh: "We're still building in Wichita. If not a brand-new store, a relocation or a remodel. We've remodeled every store in the company twice in the last 10 years, and I suspect we'll do it again."
Eagle: What are the company's new markets, and is the company searching for more new markets?
Thornbrugh: "The newest markets that were in are Dallas-Fort Worth and the greater Phoenix area, and we've been there eight to 10 years. Tucson is a new market for us, though, sort of an extension of the Phoenix market. We find Tucson a very attractive market, a market in which we can build the amount of stores we need to obtain the market share we need."
(Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage of QuikTrip in Tucson.)
"And people kind of scoff and roll their eyes when we say it, but one of the reasons we need new markets is employee opportunity growth. If you don't continue to grow the opportunities, losing good people is a real possibility if they don't have an opportunity to move up in the company. These are good moves. They help sales, but they also give our employees new opportunities. We have a lot of time and money invested in these people, and we want them to stick around an awfully long time."
Eagle: The company is very public about paying higher wages than the industry norm. Why?
Thornbrugh: "Our philosophy has never changedto get the best in the business and keep those people with you for a long time. QuikTrip has always believed in higher salaries, better benefits and better job opportunities, and it's paid off for us. You look at the nametags in our store, and you'll see people with 10, 15, 20 years. We've got a lot of people with 40 years. We consider this an extension of the company culture. If you want to be the best, you need to hire the best, pay the best, provide the opportunities and provide the benefits. It's a culture we all believe in."
(QuikTrip recently agreed to pay nearly $750,000 in back wages that went unpaid because of a programming error.Click here for previous coverage.)
Eagle: How does QuikTrip attack a recession?
Thornbrugh: "We have a long-term plan, and we stick with it. There are some things right now that are very helpful to QuikTrip. A tough economy makes land we wish to purchase a lot more affordable. We don't just stop what we're doing.... Although it make take a couple of years to do what we expect, we don't believe in delaying it. It's corporate patience."
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.