FORT ATKINSON, Wis. -- Southside Shell, a Wisconsin Petroleum Inc., dealer in Fort Atkinson, Wis., is the STARZ Buying Club's 2,000th participating location, said Shell Oil Products US, Houston.
The club, launched in December 2003, is a complete convenience merchandising program operated by Royal Buying Group Inc. (RBG). The program is designed to help Shell-branded wholesalers and retailers realize additional savings and financial opportunities through vendor marketing programs, rebate administration and vendor promotion management.
Scott Spoerl, operator of Southside Shell, said, I liked that I didn't have to change my purchasing process, didn't need to pay an out-of-pocket' expense to participate and most importantly, believe it will bring more profit to my bottom line. The time required to meet with vendors, track my purchases and collect my rebates just did not make financial sense for me to continue performing. I'm looking forward to having a resource to get merchandise and services programs I typically wouldn't have access to.
The STARZ Buying Club is one of the components available through the STARZ (Shell Trading & Retail Zone) website, a proprietary portal that provides Shell-branded retailers and wholesalers with site operations and convenience retailing tools and information.
STARZ is a comprehensive website that gives our branded operators access to daily industry news, Shell news and program updates, a training and learning section, a vendor index that includes many proprietary Shell programs and much more, said Jerry Peffer, STARZ category manager for Shell Oil Products US.
Retailers continue to visit the STARZ website more often and for longer periods of time each month, Peffer added. And, the STARZ Buying Club is just one tool that helps our retailers and wholesalers maximize vendor related merchandising programs, promotions and special opportunities, while providing administrative support at a lower cost than even some of our retailers and wholesalers can do themselves.
Michael Zielinski, president and CEO of Hinsdale, Ill.-based RBG, said, We continue to experience growth in Shell-branded location store counts and in the level of program participation by the STARZ Buying Club members. The Shell-branded sites are located on some of the best real estate in the country, which is just what major branded products need to create demand from today's consumer. Major supplier interest in the STARZ Buying Club continues to increase as they see the results of our promotional efforts. For the balance of the year, we'll continue to focus on developing exclusive programming that will be available only through the STARZ Buying Club.
Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Co., has a network of approximately 6,000 branded gas stations in the western United States. Shell Oil Co. is an affiliate of the Shell Group. Motiva Enterprises LLC refines and markets branded products through approximately 7,700 Shell-branded stations in the eastern and southern United States. Shell Oil Co. is a 50% owner of Motiva Enterprises LLC, along with Saudi Refining Inc.
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