KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Par Hawaii Inc., one of the largest owners of gas stations and convenience stores in the Aloha State, is rebranding many of the stations from the 76 and Tesoro brands to the new “Hele” brand at a cost of $4 million, its top executive told Pacific Business News.
Houston-based Par Pacific Holdings Inc., the parent of Par Hawaii, which oversees the company’s retail operations in the state, and Par Hawaii Refining LLC, which operates its Kapolei refinery on Oahu, purchased San Antonio-based Tesoro Corp.'s Hawaii operations in 2013.
Par Pacific formed Par Hawaii Inc. and Par Hawaii Refining, formerly known as Hawaii Independent Energy LLC (HIE), following the acquisition of Koko'oha Investments Inc., the parent company of Mid Pac Petroleum LLC, by Par Petroleum Corp. in 2015 for approximately $107 million. Mid Pac, the exclusive licensee of the 76 brand in Hawaii, operated or distributed through more than 80 retail sites and four terminals across the Aloha State.
Jim Yates, president of Par Hawaii, told PBN that it is moving forward with its new brand, “Hele,” a Hawaiian word that means “to go” in English. A new tagline and a new name for its convenience stores remain to be announced, said the report. “We were looking for something dynamic and local, and it’s going to be a new look that the community will love,” Yates said. “It’s also part of our continued investment in this market.”
Par Hawaii said it looked at about 80 different names before settling on Hele. “We wanted a Hawaiian sense of place, but we didn’t think it needed to be a Hawaiian word,” said Yates. “We had the option to continue on with the Tesoro brand, but this allows us to control our own destiny.”
Par Hawaii has 97 locations across the state, most of which are 76 branded, said the report. Eric Lee, vice president of retail for Par Hawaii, told the newspaper that of these 97 stations, 37 will be rebranded to Hele. The remaining 60 gas stations will keep the 76 name or be rebranded to 76. The Tesoro brand will disappear, he said.
The change officially began July 18, the report said, and the conversion is scheduled to be fully completed by the end of September.
Par Hawaii contracted Honolulu-based MVNP to come up with the new brand, which includes speed lines that indicate movement, as well as italicized lettering that indicates forward movement, according to the report.
Par Pacific Holdings manages and maintains interests in energy and infrastructure businesses. It organizes its business into three primary segments of refining, retail and logistics, located in Hawaii. It also transports, markets and distributes crude oil from the western United States and Canada to refining hubs in the Midwest, Gulf Coast, East Coast and Hawaii.
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