OAK BROOK, Ill. -- CSP Information Group has formed an editorial advisory board for CSP Independent, a new publication that debuts in March 2006. CSPI, which will focus solely on the needs, challenges and opportunities of convenience retailers with 10 stores or fewer, will use the advisory group to help determine its editorial content and direction.
The retailers on this board represent what has become the melting pot' of the independent community, said Bill Donahue, executive editor of CSPI. They each face their own unique challenges in terms of competition, [image-nocss] operations and other areas of the business and each one will bring tremendous insight and intelligence to our decision-making process. I have no doubt their guidance will help us better serve this segment of the industry.
In the weeks and months to come, CSPI may add to its advisory board with retailers who specialize in key areas to gain an even more in-depth industry perspective.
Current members of the CSPI editorial advisory board include:
Ray Hawkins, president, Berkly Enterprises Inc., Brady, Texas. Hawkins' five off-interstate Berkly's stores offer a highly diversified product mix. In recent years, Hawkins' stores have merchandised everything from collectible swords to porcelain dolls, bearing premium price points, in addition to more traditional convenience store items. Danish Ismail, partner, Combined Oil Co., Lincolnshire, Ill. Ismail's roots are firmly planted in the soil of the independent community. His company has tapped into a network of business people that represent the future of independent fuel marketing and convenience retailing in the Midwest. Mohammed S. Khan, president, LA Rouge Mart, Baton Rouge, La. * Khan operates his single-store LA Rouge Mart operation in Baton Rouge. He opened his unique, upscale convenience store in 2000 following a very successful career in the retail home-improvement business. Monica Musich, president, Valley Dairy/VALDAK Corp., Grand Forks, N.D. Musich, who started working for VALDAK in her 20s, is a second-generation owner/operator of seven Valley Dairy c-stores and three car washes in North Dakota and Minnesota. John Rowe, president, Speedy's Convenience Stores, St. Joseph, Mo. Second-generation owner/operator Rowe has grown his chain of Speedy's stores in Missouri from five to eight within the past few years. His son recently joined the business to extend the company into a third generation.
Oak Brook, Ill.-based CSP Information Group, publisher of CSP magazine and CSP Daily News, is a business-to-business communication company specializing in the convenience and retail petroleum industry. Other business units include CSPNetwork CyberConferences, CSP Meetings & Conferences and b2b Solutions LLC consulting.
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