Casey’s General Stores Inc. is not fully rebranding the 22 Lone Star Food Stores in Texas that it purchased from W. Douglass Distributing Ltd. in November, CSP has learned. The acquisition represents Casey’s entry into Texas, where the Lone Star brand is strong.
“Lone Star was an existing company with some strong brand equity in Texas,” Katie Jerome, store integration marketing specialist for Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s, told CSP. “These stores will remain branded as Lone Star on the forecourt to keep that brand equity, but everything on the inside will reflect Casey’s, with all Casey’s products, but they will not have any prepared foods.”
That store model follows the pattern of Casey’s Goodstop sub-brand, which the retailer developed following the acquisition of Buchanan Energy and its Bucky’s 94 c-stores and 79 dealer locations c-stores in 2021. Goodstop stores do not include Casey’s branded foodservice.
The Casey’s deal follows Douglass Distributing’s sale in October of its wholesale businesses, consisting of propane, lubricant, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and wholesale and commercial fuel businesses to Commerce City, Colorado-based Offen Petroleum LLC.
The Lone Star convenience stores are located within a 60-mile radius of Sherman, Texas. Casey’s is retaining all of the employees at the stores, it said.
Douglass Distributing was originally founded in 1947 as Humble Oil and was purchased by Bill Douglass in 1981 when he acquired the Exxon consignee located in Sherman, Texas.
“The Lone Star stores are high-quality stores located on great corners in fantastic markets,” said Darren Rebelez, president and CEO of Casey’s, when he announced the transaction. “These stores will serve as a springboard into the great state of Texas for Casey’s, while still located within our self-distribution network.”
- Casey's General Stores Inc. is No. 3 on CSP's 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s has more than 2,500 convenience stores, now in 17 states, mostly in the greater Midwest.
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