Beverages

While the percent of convenience stores selling beer remained unchanged from 2008 to 2009, at three-quarters of the industry, the average sales per store grew a half percent to $126,033. This increase is down compared to the resurgence seen in 2008, when beer sales per store grew 3.3 percent.

T he Pantry Inc., operator of 1,647 convenience stores in 11 states, plans to sell 80 sites in the Southeast through NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC.

The convenience industry's resilience, despite the recession, is evidenced by the continued gains in per-store merchandise sales excluding foodsercice, which again top the $1 million mark for the second consecutive year. Merchandise sales for the average store increased 4.3 percent to $1,063,889.

The significant slowdown seen in packaged beverage sales growth in 2008 turned into a sales loss in 2009, as the recession continued to hamper consumer spending. Per-store sales of packaged beverages declined 2.0 percent to $137,497 per store last year, compared to the 2.1-percent sales gain seen in 2008.

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2009 was characterized by extreme highs and lows as convenience stores survive the recession better than most other industries.

Foodservice sales growth continues to outpace merchandise sales growth in the convenience channel, although the gap between the two closed considerably last year, as per-store sales of foodservice grew 5.5 percent vs. 4.3 percent for merchandise — a difference of just 1.2 percentage points. The variance in 2008 was 5.0 percentage points, with foodservice sales increasing 7.7 percent per store vs. 2.7 percent for merchandise.