They are admonitions used for generations by moms around the world: “Turn off the TV if you’re not watching it!” or “Shut off those lights!” or “Don’t hold the refrigerator door open!” A form of this scolding is now being heard in convenience stores across the country: “Make your operations more environmentally friendly by optimizing energy use in your cold vaults!”
To be fair, operators in every industry around the world are being demanded to exhibit their social consciences and do whatever necessary to operate in a way that creates a more sustainable and healthier world in which to live. This is usually accomplished through the implementation of greener—i.e., more environmentally friendly—operations that will help prevent the emission of excessive greenhouse gases that can potentially lead to climate change.
Though c-store operators want to do their part to minimize the carbon footprints of their sites, they fight a constant internal battle of the bottom line when “going green” because the cost of “greening” their operations can be prohibitive, which can adversely affect a store’s profit-and-loss ledger. However, they have a powerful new ally in the battle to become more environmentally friendly in the form of advanced cold-vault door technology that will shorten the return on investment (ROI) period on sustainability improvements, while providing additional benefits, such as increased sales, greater profitability and enhanced product safety.
By using newly introduced cooler glass-door technology, convenience stores can have the best of both worlds as they achieve greener operations while enhancing merchandising visibility and better product positioning that will result in increased sales of higher-margin products. Driving this greening of the c-store is vacuum-insulated glass (VIG) that uses zero energy and provides retailers with 70% energy savings when compared to traditional cold-vault-door hardware. Cold-vault doors that are equipped with VIG can offer a rapid two-year ROI through an immediate reduction in utility costs.
These so-called “zero-energy doors,” such as the Vista Elite line from Anthony, a leading provider of cooler and freezer doors, and related equipment, require no energy to provide excellent insulation and anti-condensation capabilities. Additional advantages include lower maintenance and operational costs due to fewer anti-condensate wear parts. Due to the doors’ unique design, these next-generation energy-efficient doors also provide a much wider merchandise viewing area for superior product visibility compared to traditional doors. This results in increased sales and greater customer satisfaction through easily viewable merchandise selections.
Retrofitting cold-vault coolers with Vista Elite doors provides numerous benefits:
- Increased profitability: A U.S. government Energy Star study found that supermarkets’ energy costs are the second highest expenditure behind labor, according to energystar.gov. Of those energy costs, the greatest portion is for refrigeration, at 56%. The study concluded that a 10% reduction in energy costs can increase annual net profit by as much as 16%. In addition to energy savings, decreased maintenance costs also will increase profitability.
- Increased sales: Keeping refrigerated air contained in cold vaults through the use of efficiently insulated and/or energy-free doors provides a more comfortable environment for shoppers by eliminating cold microclimates in the aisles. Customers who have a more comfortable shopping experience will lengthen their shopping dwell times within the store, which will increase overall in-store sales. In addition, because more products are visible, customers will buy more.
- Food safety: Highly efficient coolers that hold perishable goods at proper temperatures more uniformly will reduce the possibility of premature product spoilage and decrease inventory waste.
While converting to greener operations may seem formidable for the c-store retailer, Anthony’s Vista Elite zero energy door helps ease the challenge by not only reducing the carbon footprint, but also decreasing operating and maintenance costs while enhancing merchandising opportunities with panoramic viewing. Cooler doors equipped with VIG provide fast ROI, lower operating costs and a practical, cost-effective way to demonstrate corporate sustainability in a more environmentally friendly and socially conscious world.
This post is sponsored by Anthony