In 1993, the Yatim family of Massachusetts was literally handed the keys—at no charge—to a run-down, boarded-up c-store/fueling station in Worcester. They accepted the keys and the rights to operate the dilapidated store and never looked back.
“The owner, who had gone out of business, gave them to my dad and said, ‘Good luck.’ This first store was built from nothing, and we worked hard and smart to grow the operation into something,” said Hussein Yatim, vice president of Yatco Energy, Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Even though the location “left much to be desired, my dad [Tarek] saw it as an opportunity to get into the business,” Yatim said. “He attended Exxon dealer training programs in Texas and worked around the clock to get the station up and running. Exxon saw the success of the site and partnered with us to run more stores.”
This was just the start: The company currently has 19 retail locations (13 company-operated and six company-owned that are run by dealers). The company has four locations currently under construction, with two due to go live before the end of 2024, and there are another four units in the pipeline for 2025. The company also functions as a wholesale fuel supplier to the Northeast region, doing so for the past 12 years.
Hussein Yatim talks about his destiny to become immersed in all things c-store/petroleum and how the future is shaping up for the outfit:
Q: What are your recollections about getting into this business?
A: I have worked here since I could walk. Later, I studied to become an engineer and worked in the medical device industry. But my heart was calling to join Yatco Energy. I have no regrets.
Q: Your retail growth plan is ambitious—can you provide specific details?
A: There are four sites ramping up at various points in late 2024. The stores being built are 5,000 square feet to 6,000 square feet per location. We are aiming to pump one million gallons of fuel per year per location, which will range from having six to eight multi-pump dispensers. We hired a vice president of property development who’s keep things moving—from permitting phases to grand openings. The local permitting process is much harder and more involved for new builds as opposed to raze/rebuilds.
Q: Recently you expanded stores into Rhode Island and Connecticut. What was the impetus to enter new states outside the Commonwealth in 2022 and 2023?
A: We saw opportunities with several single-store operators there who had strong financials. But also, Massachusetts regulations governing fuel and tobacco are heavily regulated and onerous, so crossing states lines made sense. These sites are actually in close proximity to our Marlborough headquarters.
Q: Talk about your loyalty/rewards program, since you have an affinity for technology with your background in engineering?
A: I’m a tech-minded person. As we grew the Yatco retail brand, we asked, ‘How do we incentivize customers better?’ It’s a very competitive market, so we had to differentiate that, and loyalty/rewards is the low-hanging fruit. We launched a partnership with Paytronix [Systems Inc.] on development of a first-generation app, and then evolved to introduce our own Yatco-branded app with Rovertown [Rover Enterprises LLC] in 2023.
A customer once came into one of our stores and asked, ‘What’s Yatco?’ That was an ah-ha moment to make sure people know that it’s not just the next Gulf [Oil-branded] store they’re entering. We found that the Yatco brand had been taking a back seat [to fuel-branded relationships].
Q: What are some of your broad goals with Yatco Loyalty 2.0?
A: When it came to measuring results via new downloads and users, we found that three years in to using the app that user-expansion goals were saturated—there was a finite number of new signups we could generate. Because we hit a plateau, we then wanted to find out how many of our dollar-driven transactions emanate from loyalty app usage. We discovered that 20% of all inside transactions as well as fuel did so. We’re growing that each year, and now getting involved in app gamification geared to millennial and Gen Z customers. We are also hyper-focused on introducing the right promotions to the right customer to increase baskets…knowing what they tend to buy. We’re also looking to jack up conversion rates to get people at the forecourt to come inside the store, the ones who typically do not come in.
Q: What’s your management team’s approach to finding and retaining solid workers?
A: Our total headquarter employee count is 25 and store level is about 200. With our retail network looking to expand by about 50% in two years, that store-level number is sure to increase. The great thing is that manager turnover is low, with some managers being with us for more than 10 years. People who come to work for us appreciate our family-based approach. We have a great bonus structure for lower-level associates. They realize that they have skin in the game thanks to the way they are treated.
Q: What would be the main “headline” driving Yatco Energy moving forward into 2025 and beyond?
A: We never want to be a static company. We want to keep adding stores—but not to pad store counts. We’re always seeking prominent retail opportunities that add a need, a presence to the local community. We would rather invest in 10 great new locations than 20 that are so-so.
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