SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Savannah Morning News has named Parker’s Convenience Stores its entrepreneurial business of the year for 2013.
In a lengthy feature, the newspaper highlighted Parker’s CEO Greg Parker’s journey from his family opening its first convenience store in 1975 to his current position at the top of a “$500-million convenience store empire that has landed on Inc. magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest-growing private companies two years running.”
“It wasn’t this instant thing or that I had this epiphany that I was going to own a bunch of convenience stores. I wish I could say that I had that grand scheme, but I didn’t,” Parker told the newspaper. “What I had was stick–to–itiveness and a competitive spirit. And I wanted to be really good at what I did.”
Parker will open his 35th store in Vidalia, Ga., in January and has 17 more stores in the pipeline.
Customers can find a Parker’s in seven counties across southeast Georgia and just across the border in Bluffton, S.C. He’s also opened new locations as far west as Metter along with two new stations in Statesboro.
The expansion drive is part of Parker’s larger vision to become a multi-billion-dollar company.
To do that, he said, the company will have to step up acquisitions of other gas stations in addition to new construction, overcome permitting obstacles in South Carolina and keep hiring employees who can deliver on Parker’s high standards for customer service.
“Money is cheap, real-estate values are down, unemployment is up, which means there are lots of good, talented people to hire. So our thought has been, grow now and when the economy starts to heat up, we’re in the catbird seat,” said Parker.
Click here to read the complete newspaper feature on Parker’s.
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