Don Rhoads, president and CEO of 10-store retailer the Convenience Group LLC, Vancouver, Washington, came into his year as the chairman of NACS with plans to touch base with retailers across the country, learning the challenges they face and reminding them of the variety of programs and services that NACS offers to meet those needs.
When Rhoads came into the industry in the 1980s, he leaned on NACS to help him learn the ropes of convenience retailing. He’s been an industry advocate ever since and considers his year as NACS chairman one of the highlights of his career.
Read on for the outgoing NACS chairman’s take on his year at the helm of the industry association.
Q: How has your year as chairman gone?
A: It’s been wonderful. It’s been busy. I hit the ground running and have done exactly what I intended to do (when I took the gavel) last year. … From a career standpoint, this has been one of the top activities that I’ve taken part in.
Q: What was your primary message as you’ve represented the c-store industry?
A: What was important for me was doing a road trip and thanking our member companies for everything that they do for our industry. I think most important, though, is to visit stores and to interact with the front-line workers. Our team is charged with a very difficult task at times. Coming through COVID, we look back and understand that was not an easy stretch of space for them to work in. I wanted to make sure they knew they were appreciated.
We have a wonderful industry. These people who work in our stores care. They’re the first person the customer sees when they walk into the store. They’re going to ask them how their day is. They can really turn a difficult day into a good day by just asking some questions.
“COVID was not an easy stretch to work in. I wanted to make sure front-line employees knew they were appreciated.”
Q: What did you learn? Did your term as president change the way you look at your own chain?
A: It reinforced what we’re doing, as far as culture, as far as giving back to our communities. You have to really be good at this. Average doesn’t really work much anymore. For my chain, we get that. We are part of the fabric in our communities.
Much of what I’ve seen on the road articulates what we believe in. We all own, for the most part, valuable real estate. It’s how you use it.
Q: How do you feel about the future of convenience retailing?
A: I’m bullish. We’re doing all the right things. The smaller operator really needs to focus their path, and we’re working on some initiatives through NACS to help make that happen.
With our customer-facing staff, innovation and technology are going to drive some of the things that are a little cumbersome for us. We have this legacy hardware and software that’s been put together with duct tape and chewing gum over the years, and we’re slowly starting to figure that out. I think that’s really important.
Q: What advice would you offer the incoming NACS chairman?
A: That chair will have their own journey, and we’ll see how that looks.
NACS has multiyear initiatives, [such as digital ID platform TruAge and search-engine optimizer Thrivr]. Those will remain consistent, but there are other initiatives coming in the next three to five years.
NACS is in a space where advocacy is a big deal right now. We’re talking about credit-card swipe fees, labor, supply chain issues, SNAP and others. There’s a whole array of multiyear issues that (the new chairman) can help solve.
Q: What are you looking forward to as another NACS Show nears?
A: I’m looking forward to talking about the past year and how it’s been exciting and exactly what I wanted it to look like. I’ll still be part of the NACS team moving forward, so I look forward to continuing to advocate for the industry.