Sheri Cubbage summoned the three “Cs” when COVID-19 struck one year ago. In addition to the ubiquitous “convenience,” the store manager at Kathy’s Mini Mart worked hard to always leverage “cleanliness” and “competitive pricing” at the Eden, N.C., c-store.
And Cubbage expects to build on this strategy into 2021 and beyond.
Promoting clean and competitive attributes was a must when the pandemic dawned—still are to this day—and the Marathon-branded, single-store retailer is generating loyalty within its local market, which includes alt-grocery channel competition from the likes of Food Lion, Save A Lot and Walmart. “We have very competitive pricing on things like 2-liter bottles of soda, and can match or exceed Walmart. People who do not want to go to grocery or club stores come to us for deals like this. It’s all about value.”
The store manager says Kathy’s Mini Mart’s operating mentality is to think more like a grocery or dollar store when it comes to forging a competitive advantage. “I never look at local c-stores to compare prices; we survey supermarkets and dollar stores in making price comparisons,” she said.
Sheri Cubbage of Kathy’s Mini Mart.