ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- JM Cos., owner of the SpeedStop Gas & Goods convenience stores, is converting most of its 13 BP-branded gas stations in the St. Cloud, Minn., area, to the SuperAmerica brand, the company announced on Facebook.
"As most of you have likely noticed, our BP stores are converting to SuperAmerica. We wanted to take a moment and tell you why we are excited to be making this change. SuperAmerica is a Minnesota-based company versus a global company. Our stores are now brighter, cleaner and more appealing. Stop in to one of our newly remodeled stores and we are certain you will notice the difference! We are still family owned, and we're still your neighbor," it said earlier this month.
Brian Laudenbach, vice president of JM Cos., has highlighted the changes in radio ads, and in an interview with The St. Cloud Times, said that concerns with the "long-term viability" with the BP brand emerged recently.
The company is vacating parts of the Upper Midwest, Laudenbach said, and is "really only a supplier of fuels. So it rested exclusively with us to run a quality operation."
SuperAmerica's parent company, Ridgefield, Conn.-based Northern Tier Energy LP, owns a refinery in St. Paul, one of two refineries in Minnesota.
"From a supply standpoint, that's advantageous," said Laudenbach. And JM, not SuperAmerica, will be controlling prices at the pump according to local market pressures, he said.
Among other factors, he cited the stores operating under a recognizable brand; food made in Minnesota arriving daily; and "hands-down the best rewards program," which offers three cents per gallon off for regular customers' My SA Rewards cards and more for commercial accounts.
Northern Tier Energy also operates 163 convenience stores and supports 74 franchised convenience stores, primarily in Minnesota and Wisconsin, under the SuperAmerica trademark, and owns a bakery and commissary under the SuperMom's brand.
As SuperAmerica franchisees, JM locations will "improve overnight," Laudenbach told the newspaper.
Click here to view the full St. Cloud Times report.
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