After 33 years at Kwik Trip, recent retiree Steve Loehr has an insight or two on the convenience-store business.
One is how diverse c-stores have become regarding what they sell.
“When you look back 30 some years ago, I think our industry could be characterized as Cokes and smokes,” said Loehr, whose title upon his retirement Aug. 30 was vice president - governmental relations. “At one time, each Kwik Trip sold a hundred cartons of cigarettes a day. Today we probably average 15 cartons a day.”
While those are still important categories, Loehr said in an interview Nov. 28 with CSP, the volume from those sales has been replaced. “The pioneers who were looking ahead asked what’s going to sustain the business,” said Loehr, 73, a 1972 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point. “We evolved into food. Selling fresh, hot food in our stores today has replaced that tobacco, and even more than replaced, it has even become bigger than tobacco ever was.”
- Kwik Trip is No. 11 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count.
Loehr rolled off some of the food offerings, and more, available in 2023: fresh, hand-breaded chicken and fresh meat, ribeye steaks, pork chops, made-to-order salads, lattes, espressos, compressed natural gas and electric-vehicle charging. Kwik Trip started its hot food program in 2000. Looking back, he said, they could have started it sooner.
“I think how dynamic the industry is and how it set us up for taking care of what the consumer wants today,” Loehr said. “ We offer the convenience, the locations, the quick in and out, and we’re selling them what they want, whether it be food or EV charging, or whatever. The industry has evolved so much over the last 30-plus years. And as (CEO) Don Zietlow says of Kwik Trip, ‘The best, I think, is yet to come for our industry.’”
‘Incredible’ Transformation
This transformation over the last several decades Loehr called “incredible, because a lot of other industries and businesses have come and gone, but the convenience-store industry has been very resilient in that it’s not just accepting change, but it’s being an advocate for change.”
When he looks back on his career, Loehr said one highlight that comes to mind is the people he’s met. He expressed gratitude for pioneers such as “Don Zietlow, the Sheetzes, the folks from RaceTrac, the Love family from Love’s and the Maveriks and Weigel’s of the world. These people were pioneers in our industry and helped lay the foundation for what we have today.”
Loehr said c-stores are unusual in the business world because people from different companies get together and share ideas to grow and prosper.
“We share good ideas with everybody in our industry.”
“It’s not like that in a lot of other industries,” he said. “It’s maybe not someone you compete with across the street, but you’re in different share groups and associations, and we share good ideas with everybody in our industry, because, I don’t know who said it, ‘A rising tide raises all boats.’ When we get better and our industry gets better, then our suppliers get better, etc.”
Loehr also gave a shout out to leaders from the National Association of Convenience Stores, SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, and the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO).
“The friendships and networking that we’ve developed over the years, being on supplier boards and councils and at conventions has been very rewarding,” he said. “All the awesome people that you get to meet in this industry has been a highlight for me, as well as seeing how our companies can make a difference in people’s lives—not just at work but encouraging employees to make a difference in the organizations, churches and clubs they belong to.”
Loehr also mentioned “magazines like CSP. These fledgling magazines telling the story of our industry over the years was a big part of where the industry is today, too.”
Foresight Equals Success
The successful c-store chains today are the ones that had the foresight to grow in the business, owning, for example, their distribution centers or petroleum transport, Loehr said.
“They couldn’t just have a convenience-store location,” he said. “It had to be more than that. They had to be more fundamental in structure. A lot of the early pioneers in the business started as maybe a dairy, like Rutter’s. Wawa didn’t even have gasoline when they first started. They sold food.”
What all the successful chains have in common, however, are they take care of their employees, Loehr said.
“Don Zietlow always said, ‘Our people are our number one asset. And if we take care of our coworkers, the coworkers will take care of the customers and life is good’,” Loehr said. “And I think that was very true 30 some years ago, and it's very true today.”
Listen to Employees
It’s important to be aware of other in the business are doing and listening to coworkers, Loehr said.
“Most of the great ideas we have on things to sell and improve customer service, etc, come from our coworkers, the ones on the front line,” he said, adding it’s important to recognize those employees as the company’s top asset, “And then mean it.”
In Kwik Trip’s case, he said, the company shares 40% of its pre-tax profit with all coworkers.
“I think that shows them we don’t just tell them they’re our most important asset, we prove that by sharing our profits with them,” he said. “It is a pretty neat thing to see the difference that’s made in so many of their lives.”
“When things are going great, give the opportunities to other people in our company to grow and run those different divisions and stuff I was part of before.”
Loehr has been married for 50 years to his wife, Cheryl, with whom they have four children, 11 grandchildren one great-grandchild. He held various positions during his time at Kwik Trip, including zone leader and vice president of operations support. He’s also been active on many boards and associations over the years, including NACS chairman in 2015.
He held executive positions on the Wisconsin Grocers Association board, Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association board, and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce board. One accomplishment he’s proud of is Kwik Trip being the first convenience-store chain selected to join the Partnership for a Healthier America.
Difficult Decision
He said it was a tough decision to retire because he enjoyed the business, friendships, camaraderie and daily hustle and bustle. However, he wanted to spend more time with his wife and family and volunteering at his church and with other non-profit groups.
“It was time to step aside,” he said. “When things are going great, give the opportunities to other people in our company to grow and run those different divisions and stuff I was part of before.”
Another aspect he enjoys is seeing the growth of people in the industry. “People in our company that started out of high school as kind of a generalist somewhere, and now you see them being a department manager at Kwik Trip, or whatever. It’s neat to see people around you grow.”
“It was time to step aside.”
Loehr, who in particular enjoys a Kwik Trip breakfast sandwich and the variety of coffee, noted the power today of foodservice in the industry.
“It’s remarkable how many people you talk to today that, when you talk about our stores in our industry, they’re not referred to as gas stations anymore,” he said. “They’re convenience stores, and we sell things that are convenient for our customers. And how that’s evolved into being a food destination is pretty remarkable.”