SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Retailer Enmarket has assumed the operations of 34 E-Z Shop convenience stores in South Carolina. The Savannah-based company recently bought the stores from Brabham Oil Co. Inc., Bamberg, S.C.
Enmarket assumed ownership and operations of the stores on April 19. It will begin rebranding the locations from E-Z Shop to Enmarket later this year, expecting to wrap up the project in 2019. The purchase brings Enmarket’s store count to 122 convenience stores and 14 quick-serve restaurants (QSRs). Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., Richmond, Va., provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Brabham Oil.
The deal included Brabham Oil’s wholesale fuel distribution company, as well as 11 Subway franchises. It marks the second major purchase in recent months that, together, have doubled Enmarket’s store count. Enmarket completed the acquisition of 35 Clyde’s Markets on Dec. 1, 2017.
“The addition of these 34 locations has enhanced our presence in South Carolina and will further build our brand in the Southeast,” said Brett Giesick, Enmarket’s president. “But more than that, our parent company, Colonial Oil, and Brabham Oil are both fourth-generation family-owned businesses that have built strong reputations with both customers and employees. We understand the trust and commitment we took on with this purchase and will continue to build on it.”
Both companies have ties that date back to 1929, when Clarence M. Brabham opened a small wholesale petroleum business as a reseller for Colonial Oil. Brabham Oil served as a wholesale jobber for major fuel brands such as Shell, BP, Phillips 66 and Chevron for several decades. Brabham Oil launched private-label gasoline under the Horizon brand in 1999.
“The friendships established by this company with customers and suppliers over the years have been vital to its success and will always be treasured,” said Brab McCully, president of Brabham Oil. “We look forward to the family business tradition being continued by the good folks at Enmarket.”
Enmarket, founded as Interstate Stations by Robert Demere in 1963, is part of Savannah, Ga.-based Colonial Group Inc., which includes Colonial Oil and several other energy-related companies. The retailer operates c-stores in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The chain ranked No. 103 in CSP's2017 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States; at the time it owned only 59 stores.
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