BANGOR, Maine -- The changeover from Irving Oil to Circle K occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday at 252 of Irving Oil's Bluecanoe, Mainway and Big Stop convenience stores across New England and Atlantic Canada, reported The Bangor Daily News.
The gasoline pumps were wrapped in yellow tape, similar to crime scene tape, during the overnight switch, and some people, unaware of the change, thought the stores had been robbed, Irving spokesperson Lars Trodson said Wednesday. "At least it got people's attention," he said.
Saint John, New Brunswick-based Irving Oil Ltd. signed a 20-year [image-nocss] deal with Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to operate the 252 stores, which will continue to sell Irving gasoline. (Click here for CSP Daily News coverage.)
"We have about 2,000 employees in New England and 97% are retaining their jobs," Trodson told the newspaper.
A total of 124 of the stores are in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont. The other 128 are in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Trodson said he was not sure whether the Canadian stores would operate as Circle Ks or under the brand name Couche-Tard. Financial details about the lease agreement were not disclosed.
The deal makes the approximately 6,000-store Couche-Tard, which acquired the Circle K brand in 2003, the second-largest independent convenience store operator in North America, surpassed only by 7-Eleven, the report said.
Circle K, launched in El Paso, Texas, in 1951, went through a mid-1980s bankruptcy and ownership changes before it was purchased by Couche-Tard for $804 million five years ago.
Signs at the stores are all expected to be changed by the end of the year, Trodson said.
"People really should know, both the Cruise-In-to-Win and the Override gas programs are still on," he said, referring to gas discount programs offered through Shaw's grocery stores and Dunkin' Donuts. "And you can combine them."Meanwhile, seven Little Sues c-storesin Gloucester and the Middle Peninsula in Virginia became 7-Elevens yesterday, according to The Daily Press. Gloucester-based Neighborhood Convenience Inc. sold the stores in January to 7-Eleven, which has been renovating them since April. Dallas-based 7-Eleven will make all seven of thestores available for entrepreneurs to franchises, the report said.Click herefor previous CSP Daily News coverage.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.