SAVANNAH, Ga. — Parker’s has made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for the sixth time, ranking at No. 4,948, the only convenience-store chain taking a spot for 2021.
The Inc. 5000 list recognizes the top 0.07% of all private companies in the United States in terms of growth. To earn a spot on the annual list, companies needed to achieve significant revenue and human resources growth between 2017 and 2020.
“It takes grit and determination to reach this milestone in any year, but you’ve done it during one of the hardest milestones we’ve ever endured as a country,” Inc. Editor-in-Chief Scott Omelianuk told the winners. “Not only have you managed to survive, but you have thrived—and that’s truly inspiring.”
- Parker's is No. 99 onCSP’s 2021 Top 202ranking of c-store chains by store count.
Based in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s owns and operates 70 c-stores throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina and is in the middle of a $50 million expansion into the Charleston, S.C., market. It employs more than 1,200 individuals and completes more than 125,000 transactions daily.
The company has experienced 20% to 24% annual growth every year for the past 22 years.
Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker—who opened the first Parker’s store in Midway, Ga. in 1976 and has led the company with an expansion strategy over the past decade—credits his team and customers with helping the company achieve this milestone, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The past 18 months have been incredibly challenging, but our hard-working team members and our loyal customers have helped make Parker’s a smarter, better and more resilient company,” said Parker. “We’re truly humbled to be honored, for the sixth time, as one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies, offering exceptional customer service, state-of-the-art technology and award-winning, Southern-inspired food to our customers 365 days a year.”
Parker’s uses predictive analytics and machine learning to determine the most seamless, frictionless and time-efficient ways to complete transactions and to prepare the freshest possible food to meet customer demand, Parker said. The company is also a pioneer in GPS-enabled mobile app technology and has seen a 40% increase in contactless payment through the Parker’s Rewards app during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 228,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date, he said.
Parker’s Kitchen serves hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders as well as made-from-scratch macaroni and cheese, a breakfast bar and daily specials.
Companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2017 to 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of Dec. 31, 2020. The business-media brand has produced the Inc. 5000 list since 1982.
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