MESA, Ariz. -- The staff of CSPedia, CSP Business Media's online encyclopedia of convenience store chains, gathers new insights and news and updates the listings for the nearly 500 retailers in its database on a daily basis. CSPedia delivers a monthly summary of these reports, often news not yet announced publicly, to its subscribers.
Here is a collection of some of the news and people updates from July 2014.
People on the Move
- Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes. Fran Duskiewicz has been named president and CEO of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes following the death of longtime founder and CEO John MacDougall on June 21, 2014. Industry veteran Duskiewicz joined the New York company in 1985.
- Champlain Farms (Wesco Oil Co.). Company attorney and vice president Bill Simendinger died July 14 of a heart attack. He was 52 years old. He and his siblings, David Simendinger and Kathy Sarvak, worked together to lead the Vermont chain.
- Childers Oil Co. (Double Kwik). New category managers are Tammy Noble, foodservice, and Mona Delong, beverages, e-cigarettes and candy. Missy Matthews is now president of the company and Tony Sizemore is director of operations. Elza McCoy is the primary buyer contact for the Kentucky chain.
- Circle K Midwest. Category manager Amanda Richert handles non-alcohol beverages; others are Matt Hieb, tobacco; Brent Byers, candy and snacks. Mark Dalesandro is director of marketing for the region. Norm Beck is director of operations.
- J&H Oil Co. dba: J&H Family Stores. Craig Hoppen has been named CEO of the organization, which is based in Michigan.
- Kroger Convenience. Ken Nuss, longtime corporate vice president of marketing for the Kroger Convenience division, is retiring on July 31. Succeeding him is Bill Mullen, formerly senior vice president of Kwik Shop, who has been named vice president of merchandising.
- Schmuckal Oil Co. dba: Mini-Mart. Paul Schmuckal is CEO and Dave Waldron COO. Lyndi Verstrate is category manager for the Michigan chain of 26 stores.
- Tedeschi Food Shops. Greg Donoghue has been promoted to chief operating officer. He succeeds Robert Tedeschi Jr., who retired after nearly 39 years of service at the Massachusetts company.
- United Dairy Farmers Inc. Emma Lindner is a category manager, replacing Jason Flynn, who is leaving the Ohio company.
- Woodfin dba: Pit Stop, Exxon. Justin Andress has been named president of the company. Jack Woodfin, owner, has the title of CEO. H.O. Harcum is vice president of Pit Stop retail operations and primary buyer contact. Reaves Louthan has retired. The Virginia company operates 26 stores.
In the News
- Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard (Mac's, Circle K), North America, with about 8,500 stores, closed fiscal 2014 with significant growth for a sixth consecutive year, with net earnings of $812.2 million, up 41.8% over fiscal year 2013.
- Childers Oil Co. (Double Kwik) has shed a few stores and now operates 40 corporate locations. The Kentucky chain also distributes fuel to an additional 100 dealer sites.
- Erickson Oil Inc. dba: Freedom Valu Centers is experimenting with its own movie rental program using local vendors. The Wisconsin chain has 67 locations.
- Kum & Go LC opened three new 5,000-square-foot convenience stores, two in Oklahoma and one in Missouri. The new island with diesel pumps provides easy access for larger vehicles. The new sites bring the Iowa company's total locations to 425.
- Meijer Gas Stations is planning nine new convenience stores in 2015 and is expanding into Wisconsin. The Michigan company currently has 193 supercenter stores, of which 182 also include fuel and a convenience store.
- Virginia-based Miller Oil Co. dba: Miller's Neighborhood Market and 7-Eleven is implementing PDI software for its back-office system.
- Mirabito Fuel Group dba: Quickway Food Stores, Convenience Express, Manley's Mighty-Mart is evaluating the 17 Manley's Mighty-Mart sites it purchased this year, with plans to rebrand them as Quickway Food Stores. The New York chain operates 74 c-stores and one standalone Tim Hortons.
- Maine chain R.H. Foster Energy LLC dba: Foster's, On the Run sold two stores, leaving it with 86 locations, and has changed fuel brands from ExxonMobil to Shell and Gulf.
- Schmuckal Oil Co. dba: Mini-Mart is building a commissary for self-distribution. The chain has 28 stores in Michigan.
- Woodfin dba: Pit Stop, Exxon has switched its primary wholesale supplier to M.R. Williams and formerly was with J.T. Davenport. The chain has 29 stores in Virginia.
CSPedia--a product of CSP Business Media LLC--offers unparalleled intelligence and insight into more than 470 convenience retail chains in the United States and Canada. CSP developed it in response to requests from suppliers and retailers for more efficient sales calls. Because it's online, it is available 24/7, and information is updated every day. CSPedia represents chains with 20 or more locations or a total of more than 110,000 stores.
Company profiles include background and history on each chain, as well as information on their buying needs and marketing practices. Information is gathered directly from the operators in one-on-one interviews with buyers. It includes contact information for key managers and buyers, along with bios and photographs.
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