ODESSA, Texas -- Charity, community, heart: For John West, these have been hallmarks of a retail career spanning nearly 50 years and two industries. Now it is time for the next chapter, as West retires from Alon Brands Retail, where he has served as head of community and charitable programs for the past year, and considers his next role in the convenience-store industry he so greatly admires.
“My wife Marcy and I are looking forward to the next stages of our life, starting in January 2016,” West told CSP Daily News. In an exclusive interview, he reflected on not only his time at 7-Eleven licensee Alon Brands but also a resume that includes positions at c-store chains from Garb-Ko Inc. in Michigan to Swifty Serve in Louisiana.
West joined Odessa, Texas-based Alon Brands Retail in 2003, spending most of his tenure in marketing. In 2013, he succeeded Mike Scarpelli as vice president of retail marketing and helped oversee the more than 300-store chain’s transition from Fina to the new Alon fuel brand.
But it has been his most recent role, overseeing Alon Brands’ charitable efforts—and in particular, its support of the United Services Organization (USO) and Special Olympics—and drumming up employee involvement, that West considers a true career highlight.
“The key measure is when you see employees get behind a cause and work toward that feeling of achievement,” West said. “We had quite an increase in people who worked on and filled roles in the various programs we supported.”
The company has been a long-time supporter of the USO, a nonprofit that provides programs and services to members of the military and their families. Many of Alon Brands Retail’s sites operate near military bases and so enjoy strong community support during their fundraising efforts, with more than $1 million donated. The USO is also a group close to the heart of West, whose son, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matt West, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
Alon Brands employees also stepped up for the Special Olympics, helping raise nearly $95,000 in 2015. “For the first time other than for USO, every region in our company fully supported Special Olympics, not just in money but in finding volunteers to go participate,” said West.
Beyond these two causes, Alon Brands also supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and this past year, several local causes, such a clothing drive in the El Paso, Texas, store region.
Another career highlight for West: the opportunity to work in the c-store industry. West began his retail career at the former Chatham’s Supermarkets chain in Detroit and found the supermarket industry highly competitive and close-mouthed.
“No one wanted to share information,” he said. “Whereas in the c-store industry, every one kind of looks out for each other. Not many businesses do that.”
He has also been amazed at consumers’ ability to create a business opportunity and for the c-store industry to grab it. Consider, for example, bottled water.
“I fought putting it in stores in the beginning because I thought we were wasting space for soda and beer,” he said. “The way consumers accept and demand something, c-stores are so quick to adapt to it, even more so than the big-box stores or supermarkets. … It goes back to the closeness between companies and their willingness to support each other. I don’t think you see that in any other industry out there.”
Despite his retirement from Alon Brands at the end of December, West plans to stay actively involved in the c-store industry. He looks forward to seeing retailers master the next big frontier: foodservice.
“When you operate on tight margins to begin with and then throw additional labor at it, sometimes that patience wears very thin to see a program work,” said West. “I look forward to seeing how that will continue to evolve.”
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