NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- Continuing its work with software provider Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), Sunoco says it intends to further analyze the effect its Laredo Taco program has on stores where they introduced the Mexican foodservice concept, officials said.
Sunoco said it has extended its license agreement of APT’s Test & Learn for Sites and Market Basket Analyzer software and added APT’s Test & Learn for Customers package, which will refine its customer strategies around its APlus Rewards program among other projects.
An APT client since 2012, Sunoco, Newton Square, Pa., will continue to leverage APT’s Test & Learn for Sites software to evaluate and refine its promotional strategy, optimize its foodservice program and identify opportunities to drive growth across their recently acquired Stripes, Circle K and Tigermarket stores.
“We have a great opportunity to leverage APTs Test & Learn software across all of our retail banners including Stripes and APlus. For example, we will be analyzing the impact of adding Laredo Taco, the Stripes fresh Mexican foodservice concept, to additional locations, to serve our customers and drive fuel customers into our stores," said Chris Williams, vice president of merchandising for Sunoco. "Similarly, we look forward to using the software to refine our promotional and merchandising strategies, as well as to generate more nuanced customer segmentations and smarter offers for our APlus Rewards program.”
Commenting on the relationship, Sarah Hinkfuss Zampardo, senior vice president at APT, said, “We look forward to continuing to help Sunoco leverage Test & Learn to identify ways to make Sunoco even more profitable and serve their customers better.”
Sunoco Inc. is one of the largest transportation-fuel providers with operations located primarily in the East Coast and Midwest regions of the United States, especially the Interstate 95 corridor. The company sells transportation fuels through more than 5,000 branded retail locations in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The highest concentrations of outlets are located in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The company also operates several convenience-store brands, including APlus, MACS and Tigermarket in about 20 states.
In 2015, retail marketing headquarters moved to Newtown Square, a Philadelphia suburb. The company has plans to rebrand the MACS stores and Tigermarket stores to APlus over the coming months. Richmond, Va.-based MACS (Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores) was acquired in late 2013. It operates in Maryland and Virginia. With a network of approximately 300 company-owned and dealer locations, in addition to its wholesale fuel distribution network, MACS is one of the largest ExxonMobil fuel marketers in the United States.
In 2014, Sunoco affiliates acquired Susser Holdings Corp. (Texas) and its retail operations, and 40 Tigermarket stores (Tennessee). Today, Sunoco Inc., together with its affiliate Sunoco LP, operates more than 850 convenience stores (including APlus, Stripes, Aloha Island Mart and Tigermarket brands) and retail fuel sites, and distributes motor fuel to convenience stores, independent dealers, commercial customers and distributors located in 30 states at approximately 6,800 sites, mostly along the East Coast, in the Great Lakes region, and in and around Texas. Most Tigermarkets are located in and around Nashville, Tenn., with two sites in Georgia. The Stripes stores are managed through Sunoco LP.
More than 40 new Stripes stores in the Southwest were added in 2015, all with Laredo Taco locations, and current plans for 2016 include at least 40 more sites. The APlus c-store brand is primarily in the Northeast and, with the MACS rebranding, will also have sites in the Mid-Atlantic region and Tennessee. The MACS stores had been licensed as Circle Ks until the sale to Sunoco.
Arlington, Va.-based APT, a MasterCard company, is a cloud-based analytics software company that enables organizations to measure cause-and-effect relationships between business initiatives and outcomes to generate economic value. Its solutions use algorithms to analyze large amounts of data, enabling business leaders to conduct experiments and allowing them to make optimal decisions and implement business initiatives at scale. APT also offers products that support decision-making for specific business needs including transaction analysis, space planning, promotion design, category management and location selection.
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