Chain Executives

When it comes to taking the leap into refitting an existing automatic in-bay car wash with new equipment, it is important to consider some key factors before you sign on the dotted line.

In the early days of the dot-com era, a Roaring ’20s euphoria permeated the air. A new economy—one virtual, without bricks and stones or checks and balances—would rapidly transform the Macy’s, IBMs and Coca-Colas of the world into anachronisms.

Breaking into the mindset of the many groups making up modern consumers—from social-media-savvy millennials to yoga-centric females and construction-working Bubbas—can be a daunting task. Take millennials, for instance: By time a retailer can gather data on the latest Gen-Y food trend, most of that group has moved on to the next hot-ticket item. Yet with deep pockets and a willingness to embrace the c-store channel, millennials are hardly a group that can be ignored. What’s a retailer to do?