5 Highlights of Love's 2017 Business Year
By Greg Lindenberg on Jan. 01, 2018OKLAHOMA CITY -- In 2017, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. opened 36 new travel stops and convenience stores in 20 states and entered into a new state.
Love’s now operates more than 440 locations in 41 states and employs 20,000 people.
“2017 was an active year for Love’s at the store level and beyond,” said Frank Love, co-CEO of the Oklahoma City-based chain. “We opened 36 new locations, all of which were built from the ground up, entered into the state of Montana, and acquired Speedco, a well-known company serving the trucking industry. We’re providing for customers in new ways and in more areas than ever before.”
Here are the details …
1. Goals
Love's fell short of its 2017 goal of opening 50 or more new stores; however, the company had a record year in 2016 with 47 new locations in 20 states—the most new-store openings in a year since the company’s inception in 1964.
2. The stores
The 36 new stores are in 20 states:
- Troy, Texas
- Brush, Colo.
- Bellville, Ohio
- Hope Hull, Ala.
- Bushnell, Fla.
- Pine Bluff, Ark.
- Eastview, Tenn.
- Bridgeport, Texas
- Newcastle, Okla.
- Talleysville, Va.
- Newton, N.C.
- Beaumont, Texas
- Mebane, N.C.
- Magee, Miss.
- West Point, Miss.
- Circleville, Ohio
- Ely, Nevada
- Sheboygan, Wis.
- Hardin, Mont.
- Prosser, Wash.
- Paris, Texas
- South Hutchinson, Kansas
- Sinton, Texas
- Macon, Ga.
- Upper Sandusky, Ohio
- Moore Haven, Fla.
- Hagerstown, Md.
- Greenup, Ill.
- Brigham City, Utah
- Knoxville, Ill.
- Chanute, Kansas
- Springfield, Ohio
- Cunningham, Kansas
- Hereford, Texas
- Syracuse, Neb.
- Angleton, Texas
3. New state
In June, Love’s opened its first location in Montana, in Hardin, giving the company its 41st state. The Treasure State site features an 11,000-square-foot travel stop with a Hardee’s restaurant, six diesel islands and 70 parking spaces for professional drivers, as well as six fuel islands for motorists.
4. Parking and other amenities
Love’s added about 2,600 new truck parking spaces in 2017, as well as 190 showers at new travel stops. Nearly 40 locations now offer public laundry services. All new travel stops offer amenities such as showers, truck parking, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and other driver services.
5. Maintenance and service
Love’s also added to its maintenance and service offerings in 2017. The acquisition in September of Speedco, a national network of service locations that provides quick-lube and inspection services to the trucking industry, added 52 locations to Love’s tire-care network.
Love’s Truck Tire Care added 19 new locations, bringing the total number of truck tire-care and Speedco locations to more than 320.
Love's ranked No. 19 in a year-end update of CSP’s 2017 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States.