BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A 20-store Binghamton, N.Y., convenience store chain will fly a new gasoline flag on half its sites beginning in June. Manley's Mighty Mart has signed a 10-year deal with Valero Energy Corp., San Antonio. Jack Brayton, president of Manley's Mighty Mart, said his company will make the brand change over the next couple of months.
Valero has been aggressive in various markets in its attempts to get their name [on more stores], and we've bought into that, Brayton told CSP Daily News. They were able to give us a great opportunity to rebrand [image-nocss] at no cost to us, and they were able to give us an opportunity to purchase fuel with more stability. That allows us to be more competitive with the big refiners here in the local area.
Manley's contract with Exxon ran out at the beginning of the year on the 10 sites, giving the chain an opportunity to seek more stability following a period of volatile pricing, according to Brayton. We saw a huge variability, as most people did, [in gasoline prices] last year, Brayton said. We couldn't keep up with it on a retail level, and it really hurt us. Price changes were happening two and three times a day. It was really ugly, after Katrina especially.
But Brayton isn't walking out on Exxon all together. The other half of his stores will retain the Exxon brand for at least another five years. There's a great following for Exxon in this area and we certainly didn't want to disrupt that, he said. The only reason we wanted the change was for a competitive edge. We've been negotiating with several different gasoline suppliers, and Valero came to the plate and gave us the best deal.
The new contract makes Manley's Mighty Mart one of the only Valero-branded operators in south central New York State. We can be more competitive in this market with the Valero name vs. Exxon. Brayton said. Exxon branding rights cost us money and it's passed on at the retail level. Valero branding rights don't cost us money so as a result, we can be more competitive.
Brayton said most of the changes from the rebranding will be made at the pump; however, some stores will get minor facelifts to avoid clashing colors with Valero's teal and yellow.
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