MESA, Ariz. -- The staff of CSPedia, Winsight's online encyclopedia of convenience-store chains, gathers news and insights and updates the listings for the nearly 500 retailers in its database on a daily basis. CSPedia delivers a monthly summary of these reports, often news not yet announced publicly, to its subscribers.
Here is a collection of some of the news and people updates from August 2015.
People on the Move
- Coborn’s Inc. Scott Morris has joined Coborn’s as senior vice president center store, replacing the retiring Andy Knoblauch. The company, based in St. Cloud, Minnesota, operates 20 Little Dukes, Cash Wise, Save-A-Lot, Coborn’s and Holiday convenience stores throughout the upper Midwest, plus several grocery stores.
- Davis Oil Co. & C-Stores Inc. Jim Davis has stepped down from active leadership and taken on an adviser/owner role. His sons, Ben and Jon, lead the chain, with Ben Davis serving as president of Davis Oil, and Jon Davis as president of c-stores. The Michigan company is focusing on expanding stores and foodservice. It owns and operates 19 sites in or near Battle Creek and Grand Rapids.
- Kum & Go. Krischelle Tennessen has joined the Iowa chain as senior vice president of human resources. She previously was vice president of human resources at Walmart in Bentonville, Ark.
In the News
- 7-Eleven of Oklahoma opened a new store in Oklahoma City in July. It features 4,000 square feet with a full-service kitchen preparing breakfast and lunch offerings, and patio seating. The company plans to add three more stores with this design over the next year or so.
- Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard is expanding its Circle K brand in Mexico, signing an agreement to rebrand more than 700 existing Extra convenience stores located throughout Mexico to the Circle K brand by August 2017. The stores are operated by Comercializadora Circulo CCK SA de CV. CCK has been a master licensee of the Circle K brand in Mexico since 2005.
- Blarney Castle has completed its acquisition of Blodgett Oil and is integrating the 23 stores. The chain, based in Bear Lake, Mich., now operates 118 stores throughout the state, most branded EZ Mart.
- Childers Oil Co. has added a loyalty program app for its Double Kwik stores. The chain operates 41 sites in eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia and is based in Whitesburg, Ky. Four upgraded sites have added customer seating in the coffee-bar area.
- Corrigan Oil Co., operator of Express Stop stores in Michigan, plans to open three new stores by the end of the year. It operates 29 sites and distributes fuel to more than 250 dealers.
- Mississippi-based Craddock Oil has increased its footprint, acquiring 17 stores from Litco Petroleum for a total of 47 stores in Mississippi under the brands The C Stores, BlueSky and On the Run.
- E.J. Pope & Sons, based in Mount Olive, N.C., has added two Handy Mart stores, bringing its total to 39, all in North Carolina.
- Illinois chain GasMart USA’s CEO, John Tittle, has been quoted in the local newspaper, The Effingham (Illinois) Daily News, stating that the Jumpin’ Jimmy’s stores in Effingham, Montrose, Edgewood and St. Elmo are being replenished with funds received in its bankruptcy filing. Tittle also told the paper that he and company president David George plan to be visible in the Effingham community as part of a “new attitude.”
- Honey Farms Inc., operator of 37 stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, plans to purchase and rebrand two more sites in 2016.
- Kum & Go is building the first site with its newest design, a 6,000-square-foot store with expanded prepared foods. The site is being built in Johnston, Iowa. The chain operates 430 stores in 11 states and is based in West Des Moines, Iowa. Kum & Go also has acquired three Gasby’s stores in Iowa.
- MKM Oil Co. has completed the sale of its Fast N Fresh stores to TravelCenters of America, as TA continues to expand its network. MKM Oil, which has been in business since 1989, began with one gas station, which the company later converted to a convenience store and grew to its current store base of more than 30 locations. All sites sell fuel. TravelCenters said it expects that the stores, which average approximately 3,400 square feet, will be rebranded as Minit Mart convenience stores, and the sites will undergo improvements in the coming months.
- The Parker Cos. of Savannah, Ga., has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America for the fourth year in a row.
- Parkland Fuel Corp. has closed on the purchase of Pioneer Energy. Pioneer Energy and its Snack Express sites are expected to remain a stand-alone entity. Parkland is Canada’s largest independent marketer and distributor of fuels, with more than 1,000 stations.
- Reliance Petroleum Holdings LLC, owner and operator of 84 sites in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, is in growth mode and plans to add 15 to 20 sites in the next year. The company is based in Ocala, Fla.
- Street Corner has added electric charging stations at three locations, with plans to add more. The Kansas retailer specializes in small, franchise-operated sites with fuel, snacks and groceries. One site in New Jersey has added a drive-thru and self-checkout. The company franchises 43 sites and operates one.
- Wood Oil Co. has rebranded all stores Cenex, retiring the Woody’s Express brand name. Company offices are in Leavenworth, Kansas, and the chain’s five stores are in Missouri and Kansas.
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