9 C-Store Chains, Oil Brands Among Top Retailers
By Greg Lindenberg on Jul. 16, 2017WASHINGTON -- Nine retail chains, including convenience-stores, grocers with significant c-store operations and oil-company brands, grabbed spots on Stores magazine’s Top 100 retailers ranking for 2017.
Each year, Stores, the publication of the National Retail Federation (NRF), partners with Kantar Retail to rank the largest U.S. retailers by domestic sales. Not surprisingly, Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., tops the overall list, with 2016 retail sales of $362.8 billion.
Here are the companies representing the c-store industry …
Kroger
The Kroger Co.
Ranking: No. 2
Retail sales: $110.2 billion
Supermarket chain The Kroger Co., Cincinnati, owns approximately 2,800 grocery stores, about 1,450 with fuel centers, under a variety of banners in 35 states and the District of Columbia. It also owns approximately 785 convenience stores, most with fuel, under several banners:
- Kwik Shop: Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska
- Loaf ‘N Jug: Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming
- Quik Stop Markets: California and Nevada
- Tom Thumb Food Stores: Florida and Alabama
- Turkey Hill Minit Markets: Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio
- Smith’s Express: Utah
- The company also recently opened one c-store under the “Kroger” banner in Texas.
7-Eleven
7-Eleven Inc.
Ranking: No. 31
Retail sales: $14.32 billion
7-Eleven Inc., Irving, Texas, operates, franchises or licenses more than 62,000 stores in 19 countries, including 10,900 in North America. In the United States, it has more than 8,300 c-stores in 34 states.
The list follows CSP’s Top 202 2017 convenience-store ranking exactly, with 7-Eleven, Alimentation Couche-Tard and Speedway, respectively, leading the pack among pure-play c-store companies.
Hy-Vee
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle
Ranking: No. 49
Retail sales: $9.04 billion
Supermarket chain Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, has approximately 400 grocery stores in four states. It also operates nearly 220 GetGo c-stores.
Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES)
AAFES
Ranking: No. 56
Retail sales: $8.077 billion
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Dallas, operates approximately 2,500 facilities worldwide, including main stores, convenience stores, military clothing stores and theaters, in all 50 states and 33 countries.
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Ranking: No. 60
Retail sales: $7.42 billion
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Laval, Quebec, has a network of more than nearly 8,100 c-stores in North America, including approximately 6,710 stores selling motor fuel, mostly under the Circle K, Kangaroo Express, Mac’s and Couche-Tard banners. Its North American network consists of 15 business units, including 11 in the United States covering 41 states and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces.
Speedway
Speedway LLC
Ranking: No. 83
Retail sales: $5.01 billion
Speedway LLC, Enon, Ohio, a unit of Marathon Petroleum, Findlay, Ohio, owns and operates the nation’s second-largest c-store chain, with approximately 2,730 locations in 21 states.
Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Ranking: No. 90
Retail sales: $4.53 billion
Royal Dutch Shell, based in The Hague, Netherlands, is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the United States, Houston-based Shell operates in all 50 states. It operates refineries in Norco and Convent, La. and sells Shell-branded gasoline in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, a portion of the Florida Panhandle and the northeastern United States, fully integrated with Shell’s downstream business in North America.
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corp.
Ranking: No. 92
Retail sales: $4.52 billion
Exxon Mobil Corp., Irving, Texas, supplies fuel and branding to approximately 11,000 gas stations in the United States.
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