Global Partners LP

Global Partners, which operates nearly 290 stores in the Northeast, had an active 2019. In January, the company sold 24 convenience stores with gasoline: 12 in New York, five in Connecticut, four in Maryland, two in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire. Later that month, Global Partners opened its first Alltown Fresh store in Plymouth, Mass. The concept aims to provide a clean eating alternative to the traditional c-store model.

In April, the company adopted PayByCar—a tool that lets drivers purchase gas from their car without using cash, a credit card or a mobile app—at one of its Alltown Fresh convenience stores in Westborough, Mass. When a car equipped with PayByCar enters the station, PayByCar recognizes the transponder and sends a text to the consumer's smartphone. The customer replies with the pump number and PayByCar automatically activates that pump, registers the transaction, charges the card and sends an email receipt with retail offers for the visit.

For benchmarking purposes, store counts are year-end 2019.