DEKALB, Ill. -- Three Road Ranger gas stations and convenience stores in the DeKalb, Ill., area will soon change over to one of their new owner’s brand names.
Caroline Ward, a spokesperson for GPM Investments LLC, which bought several Rockford, Ill.-area Road Ranger stores, told The DeKalb Chronicle that by this summer, the DeKalb locations will be rebranded and operate as Fas Mart convenience stores.
All 22 current employees are expected to keep their jobs, said the report.
“Our company deals in growth by acquisition,” said Ward. “We do not build stores from the ground up, but instead we look for quality, existing convenience stores in great locations.”
GPM bought a total of 42 Road Ranger stores in Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky in a deal that was finalized in March 2015. The companies did not disclose the terms of the transaction.
GPM, the Israeli-owned operator of approximately 600 convenience stores across 10 states, announced in December that it was acquiring the c-store assets of Road Ranger LLC. GPM said it initially would operate these stores under the Road Ranger brand name and then transition them to one of its existing retail brands, such as Fas Mart, Shore Stop, Scotchman Stores, Young's, Li'l Cricket and BreadBox.
Ward said that the DeKalb stores would remain open during the branding transitions. Customers can expect to see new signage inside and outside the stores, said the report.
Also, Fas Mart will offer a special coffee and fountain beverage program, she told the newspaper.
"We are very excited to continue offering the same great deals on fuel, snacks, beverages and more, while introducing our own loyalty and discount programs," senior vice president of marketing Bill Reilly said when the deal closed. "We will launch our fasCASHBACK fuel discount card at these Road Ranger stores, a program which is also offered at our Fas Mart and Shore Stop locations. This card allows customers to receive discounts on every gallon of fuel purchased, up to 20 cents off per gallon, when they open up an account with us."
Richmond, Va.-based GPM is one of the largest privately owned companies in the convenience-store channel. It also recently began operating eight One Stop Stores in North and South Carolina that were previously owned by Arey Oil. The stores are currently being rebranded as Scotchman. In addition to these eight stores, as well as the planned acquisition of 163 convenience stores from VPS Convenience Store Group LLC, which also was previously announced, GPM will widen its reach to more than 800 stores in a total of 14 states.
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