CSP announced the winners of its eighth annual Category Manager of the Year (CMOY) awards March 1 during the Convenience Retailing University (CRU) conference in Orlando, Florida.
These category crusaders were recognized for tackling issues as varied as new product placement and retail disruption to keep their convenience-store chains on track to grow sales through supply chain issues, slower foot traffic, mask mandates and more.
Sponsored by Altria Group Distribution Co., CSP honored the best in the field with an awards banquet emceed by CSP Editor-in-Chief Steve Holtz and Danielle Holloway, senior director of industry engagement, Altria Group, followed by a karaoke party led by rock guitarist Billy Morris. The ceremony celebrated champions in eight core product categories.
“This year’s winners dealt with record-high gasoline prices and record-low unemployment rates, as well as out-of-stock and innovation issues that brought challenge after challenge to the typical store set. But our winners remained focused on their product segments even as retailing evolved around them,” Holtz said. “We congratulate the winners for keeping the c-store industry on the cutting edge of product selection while adapting to new challenges and product safety standards on the fly.”
For the awards, industry suppliers nominated potential finalists in fall 2022 and, under the direction of CSP editors, three finalists from each of the key categories were chosen. The final voting process took place online in January, and CSP tallied the hundreds of votes in February. The winners received the coveted CMOY trophy during CRU and will be featured in a special section of the April issue of CSP, the 2023 Category Management Handbook.
CSP’s 2023 Category Manager of the Year winners are:
| Category | Winner | Company |
| Behind the Counter/Tobacco | Alex Kupper | bp/Thorntons |
| Center Store | Brad Connell | bp/Thorntons |
| Dispensed Beverages | Jim Rastetter | GPM Investments |
| Foodservice | Savannah Johnson | Pilot Co. |
| Forecourt/Fuels | Sarah Blodgett | Casey's General Stores |
| General Merchandise/HBC | Aubrey Thornock | Maverik |
| Packaged Beverages | Mike Orwat | G&M Oil |
| Packaged Beverages-Alcohol | Shane Mabry | GPM Investments |
Watch for interviews with the winners in the April issue of CSP magazine. Click here to see a list of all the finalists, and click here to see last year's winner.
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