R.L. Jordan Oil Co.

Before his retirement in 2018, former President and CEO Dan Durbin explained how he lobbied the Jordan family and company board of director to name the stores Hot Spot. From there, he trademarked the name in the convenience industry and began using “Spot” to expand the brand and build loyalty. For example, the area in the store with food is called the Food Spot and the craft-beer area is the Hop Spot. Today, the Hop Spot in downtown Spartanburg offers seasonal brews and more than 200 different craft beers and has a Facebook following of thousands.

The R.L. Jordan Oil Co. is a family-owned and -operated business that extends the family atmosphere to all employees. In addition to the Hot Spot gas station and convenience stores, the company operates three Hardee’s and seven Subway locations in the Carolinas. The oil company grew out of a small country store in Franklin, N.C., and Jordan was the first to introduce self-serve gasoline in Georgia and parts of North and South Carolina. The company’s loyalty program, called Rewards Spot, was developed more than 10 years ago to address competition coming into the market. By offering points and discounts on every purchase, Hot Spot has maintained a competitive edge. 

Source: Convenience Digital Resource Library, Technomic. For benchmarking purposes, store counts are year-end 2018.