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 May 2016.
People on the Move
- Central Station/Central Oil & Supply. Shane Saradet has been named director of operations, replacing Scott Whitmore, who is no longer with the company. Paul Haire is foodservice director. The Louisiana firm operates 12 convenience stores and distributes fuel to another 18 dealer sites.
- Circle K South Atlantic. Kevin Walker has been named tobacco category manager for the Circle K South Atlantic business unit, which operates more than 450 Circle K and Kangaroo Express stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. He follows Kevin Taylor in the position. Taylor was named director of marketing for the division.
- Clark Crown Brands. Karyn Jaskoviak is marketing manager and Shelby Ray is marketing coordinator for the Illinois company that licenses its brand to more than 1,000 independent operators of Clark or Crown stations and c-stores in 30 states.
- DAG Petroleum. Brandon Tucker has been named director of marketing, replacing Hope Gardepi, who left the company. The company distributes fuel to about 200 sites, of which it owns 126 but does not operate them. Most of the convenience stores are operated by a commissioned agent, with support from the corporate office.
- FiveStar/Newcomb Oil. Tim Young has joined Newcomb Oil as a brand ambassador. He previously was a category manager at Thorntons and was named Category Manager of the Year by CSP. Newcomb Oil operates more than 75 FiveStar stores in Indiana and Kentucky.
- Gate Petroleum. Walter "Smokey" Waters, former foodservice director and corporate executive chef at Gate Petroleum, has taken a position as director of innovation at Pecan Deluxe Candy Co. in Dallas. There are more than 70 GATE stations with stores in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, with company headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla.
- Max's/Max Arnold & Sons. The latest generation of the family has joined the company, with grandson Max Arnold taking the position of brand manager to lead the company's rebranding efforts. He replaced Justin Frizzell. The company operates 22 stores in Kentucky and Tennessee, with a dozen already rebranded as Max's Convenience Shop, and the others transitioning from MaxfuelXpress.
- McClure Oil. Bill Schafer has been named director of information technology, replacing Randy Myers, former vice president of IT, who left the company.
- Quik Mart/Edwards Oil. Doug Howe has been named director of operations, responsible for fuel dispatch and environmental maintenance. He replaced Oneal Stanford, who left the company. Darlene Austin, category manager, is training with COO Charlie Edwards to assume buying and vendor relations by the end of 2016. The chain operates 40 stores in Alabama and Tennessee.
- Rotten Robbie's/Robinson Oil. Kris Kingsbury has joined S & D Coffee after nine years as marketing and merchandising manager at Robinson Oil. Reilly Musser has been named to fill the position for Robinson's 34 Rotten Robbie stores in northern California.
- Sunoco LP. Thomas R. Miller has joined Sunoco LP as chief financial officer. The company owns and operates or franchises about 1,600 stores and stations across the United States, under the brands Stripes, Aloha Island Mart, APlus and Tigermarket. Company headquarters are in Houston, with marketing offices in Dallas and Philadelphia.
In the News
- Casey's General Stores Inc. is leading a group of dozens of c-store and other retailers in a lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard, alleging a swipe-fee price-fixing conspiracy and demanding a jury trial. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City on March 30.
- CST Brands has exited retail operations in California and Wyoming with the sale of 79 sites to 7-Eleven. The acquisition broadens 7-Eleven's footprint and enables CST Brands to concentrate on growth areas in Georgia and Florida and its acquisition of Flash Foods.
- Indiana chain Family Express has upped its commitment to alternative fuels, adding E15 to many sites this summer. The chain operates 65 stores.
- Flash Market has three new stores on the drawing board. The Arkansas company owns and operates more than 60 stores and distributes fuel to its own sites and another 80 dealer sites.
- Global Partners has put 86 sites up for sale, following president and CEO Eric Slifka's report earlier this year that the company would sell 125 sites it considers nonstrategic. Also in April, the chain purchased 22 Convenience Plus sites from O'Connell Oil, which moves Global Partners' presence into western Massachusetts. Of those for sale, 51 are fee-owned properties and 35 are leaseholds.
- Huck's, the Illinois chain owned and operated by Martin & Bayley Inc., opened two new stores in April and May and sold one store. Its store count is 117.
- Schafer Oil, owner and operator of 14 stores in Ohio, is new in CSPedia. The company's convenience-store division is called Northtowne Sunoco, and its sites sell Sunoco and Marathon fuels.
- Sinclair Oil is observing 100 years in business. The Utah company has announced it plans to double the number of gas stations under its brand in the United States by 2024.
- Mississippi-based Sprint Mart/Victory Marketing has opened a new store and is seeking opportunities for additional sites in 2016. The company operates 84 stores.
- New York retailer Stewart's Shops has its eye on Smith's Tavern in Voorheesville, N.Y., to convert to a Stewart's. The company operates more than 300 stores in New York and Vermont and is in expansion mode.
- Ohio-based United Dairy Farmers plans to renovate up to 15 stores this year, and three new stores opened in early 2016. The chain owns and operates 190 sites in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
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