MILWAUKEE -- Following the successful sale of Tedeschi Food Shops Inc. to 7-Eleven in September, Peter Tedeschi will join forces with Jim Fiene and Paul Reuter as the chief strategic officer of the Midwest Retail Group LLC (MRG).
His role “will be to help us grow the company size in Midwest,” said Reuter, chairman of MRG.
Tedeschi left a successful career in financial services to become the CEO of his family business in 2007, where he was credited with helping to earn the company national recognition for its retailing and foodservice.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. in May entered into a deal to acquire Tedeschi Food Shops, the 92-year-old, family-run traditional convenience-store chain with 182 locations. The acquisition more than doubled 7-Eleven’s footprint in the Boston area and New Hampshire, where it currently operates and franchises approximately 165 c-stores.
“I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish at Tedeschi Food Shops, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with two industry leaders like Jim Fiene and Paul Reuter,” Tedeschi said.
As reported in a 21st Century Smoke/CSP Daily News Flash, Reuter and Tedeschi developed a strong relationship early in Tedeschi’s convenience-store career while working together to promote the National Association of Convenience Stores’ NACS PAC. Tedeschi continued to support the industry through his involvement in NACS, where he currently serves as the organization’s treasurer and vice chairman.
“With the addition of Peter and his extensive background on the team, he will help position MRG for sourcing and preparing growth opportunities at many different levels,” said Fiene, who is president and CEO of MRG.
“It’s hard not to be impressed with what Jim and Paul have accomplished,” said Tedeschi, “and I hope to help them continue to grow and evolve the Midwest Retail Group brand.”
Reuter is founder and chairman emeritus of CSP Information Group, which is now Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Winsight LLC. He is also part of the Business Accelerator Team, a convenience-store industry consulting firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Fiene was COO of Open Pantry Food Marts of Wisconsin Inc., Pleasant Prairie, Wis., until the company sold 19 of its 27 stores to 7-Eleven in June 2012. He has also served at Atlas Oil, SuperAmerica and Thornton Oil.
Milwaukee-based Midwest Retail Group LLC is a leading 7-Eleven U.S. franchise group. The company, with 16 locations, is a privately owned operations and marketing organization with more than 60 combined years of gasoline and convenience-store management expertise. It is planning for continued growth in the Midwest market, and it said it has tripled its store count over the past two years.
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