CHICAGO -- BP's ampm convenience store has been ranked 51st in Entrepreneur magazine's 28th annual Franchise 500, billed as the world's "first, best and most comprehensive" ranking of franchises. ampm was also ranked No. 34 in Entrepreneur's list of America's Top Global Franchises.
Companies are judged based on criteria including financial strength and stability, growth rate, system size and number of years in business. ampm is the only convenience store owned by an integrated oil and gas company to make the list.
"BP is honored [image-nocss] that ampm was selected to be part of the Franchise 500," said Ben Amante, vice president of franchising for BP. "The brand operates successfully in the Western U.S. and internationally, and by introducing an ampm-branded franchise in the Eastern U.S., we're leveraging our significant ampm franchising experience and market recognition. We see great growth potential in the future."
The ampm brand was founded in 1978 in Southern California by ARCO, which was acquired by BP in 2000. ampm is found in the Western U.S. in California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington and Oregon, with franchisees owning and/or operating about 1,000 ampm-branded convenience retail stores. Internationally, about 2,000 ampm stores are located in Brazil, Japan and Mexico. BP is selling ampm franchises in the Eastern U.S. in South Florida, Chicago, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh marketing areas. While similar, the Eastern and Western U.S. ampm franchise offers are distinct from one another and subject to separate franchise documentation.
BP markets more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline every year to U.S. consumers through 13,000 retail outlets offering Amoco fuels. BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corp., Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol.
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