HJB Convenience, based in Lakewood Colo., owns and operates 18 locations across North America, from Hawaii to Detroit. Two of these locations, dubbed Russell’s Xpress, are unusual in that they are not staffed by human beings during the day.
These unstaffed locations are located in office buildings. Customers must be employees of said buildings to enter and use the stores. These customers enter their office phone number into a keypad by the door to enter. They then can grab the items they need choosing from a limited selection of SKUs based on items that sell most frequently in other HJB-managed locations. Both locations are outfitted with customer-operated POS systems. These machines accept credit cards thanks to technology developed in-house by HJB’s tech sister company, Tenderfoot Software.
Shrink is kept to a minimum with cameras posted in both locations and the built-in membership system limiting customers to employees of the building, according to Ray Huff, president of HJB Convenience. The unstaffed units are restocked by employees from nearby staffed locations each day.