BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. -- QuikTrip Corp. spokesperson Mike Thornbrugh described the convenience retailer's entry into South Carolina for the Spartanburg Herald Journal as "a blitzkrieg-style plan that calls for building a number of stores in a very short period of time."
Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip on Friday officially opened its 5,700-square-foot, 20-pump gas station in Boiling Springs (see Related Content below for previous CSP Daily Newscoverage). The store is the first location the privately held company plans to open in the county by early 2012 and a starting point for its aggressive expansion into the state, said the report.
Customers were greeted by a full-service coffee bar, a plethora of fountain and frozen drinks, snack foods lined up on low displays, coolers crammed with craft beers, soft-serve ice cream and self-serve stations with prepared foods like sandwiches, biscuits, hot dogs, taquitos and other fresh pastries, according to the newspaper's onsite visit.
The store is an example of the company's next-generation design, meant to enhance the customer's shopping experience and keep them from waiting in line. It also has outdoor seating, a Wells Fargo ATM machine and a touchscreen ordering system for the coffee bar, the report said.
"Unfortunately, we're in an industry that isn't highly regarded for style and design, but we want to change that," said Thornbrugh, the chain's manager of public and government affairs. "We will raise the standard."
A second store will open soon in the Spartanburg, S.C., area at Exit 77 of Interstate 85, said the report. The third will open there in November. A fourth is scheduled to open there in February.
The company has established its management office for the South Carolina division in Greenville.
Thornbrugh said each new store represents about a $3.5 million investment and employs approximately 15 people.
QuikTrip marked the opening of the Boiling Springs store with a $25,000 donation to the United Way of the Piedmont.
"It's not often you can say that a gas station enhances a community, but in this case it truly does," County Council chaiman Jeff Horton told the paper. "If all of their stores turn out like this, then it will truly be a boon for Spartanburg residents. Not to mention, it will help keep gas prices low and bring new tax dollars to the community. It's good to have this investment."
Thornbrugh said QuikTrip was anxious to compete for a share of the local market with the likes of Raceway, BP, Greenville-based Spinx Co. and R.L. Jordan Oil Co., which operates Hot Spot stations.
QuikTrip currently owns 582 retail outlets in 10 states, the report said.
For more on how aggressive growth--both in new-builds and acquisitions--are changing the competitive landscape, check out the October 2011 cover feature of CSP magazine (see Related Content, below).
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