[Editor's Note: This is the second of two articles on improvements going on at Sun Capital Partners' two c-store platforms, Village Pantry and Worsley Operating Corp. For more on this private-equity powerhouse and its new focus on convenience retail, watch for the September issue of CSP magazine.]
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- In a conversation with CSP Daily News, Jeff Turpin, president and CFO for Sun Capital Partners' Worsley Operating Corp., spoke of meeting the needs of today's consumer as a way to best focus future investment.
Soon after the Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital purchased [image-nocss] Worsley, a 139-store chain based in Wilmington, N.C., earlier this year, a second acquisition—Lil'Cricket, an 88-store chain out of Spartanburg, S.C.—was brought into the Worsley fold.
Q: With an influx of new funding from Sun Capital, what will be the overall spending strategy?
A: It's a continual process of evaluating store conditions and investing resources into stores. But at the same time, you can never be profitable if you're always updating stores to the latest and greatest. It's a process of looking at physical assets, allocating resources to particular stores and investing in our employees.
Q: You come from the Worsley side of the equation. What's your take on the needs from the Lil' Cricket side?
A: If you look at the physical properties, we feel some are great locations. Our emphasis is going to be on areas such as merchandising and the overall presentation of stores. We'll be making assessments and bringing consistency to the chain, and that includes best practices. We also want to integrate the two chains as quickly as possible. Already we're on track to have all the financial reporting on one platform.
Q: Do you envision a single c-store brand for your region?
A: We've conducted a study of that, and again, one of the main goals is to bring consistency to the markets where we operate. Lil' Cricket has a great following in their area. And at this point, all I can say is we're blessed with a number of brands.
Q: What kind of value do you think private-equity firms, such as Sun Capital, bring to the c-store channel?
A: Sun has a number of investments in the retail sector, as well as a number of other businesses. That in and of itself is a plus. Sun brings to us a range of resources and people to call. We'll be able to share best practices with drug-store chains, restaurants and many others. I also think investment is always good for any industry. I can't imagine any industry that doesn't welcome investment.
Q: Can you tell us more specifically what Sun Capital's investment into Worsley will mean going forward?
A: Our focus is going to be on the customer. That's where we need to partner with Sun and see what enhancements we can give to customer service. Down the road, I see us growing. How big? Well, in the three months we doubled in size. Who's to say where we'll be two years from now.
Click hereto read Part I.
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