Walmart

In 1996, a single H. E. Butt (H-E-B) grocery store began selling fuel in its parking lot in Midland, Texas, a mid-size market with a poulation of 300,000 that was well-served by traditional petroleum marketers such as Kent Oil Inc.

Mention the general merchandise category to most convenience retailers or distributors, and eyes glaze over. Heads shake in despair. Mumbles about mass merchants killing the category on price can be heard, along with laments that the highly competitive and profitable beverage, tobacco and snack categories demand attention first. General merchandise, it seems, has become the ugly duckling of the industry.

STP fuel additives to be available at gas pumps on the West Coast.

The 1,200 square feet that make up Becket General Store in Becket, Mass., are jam-packed with merchandise, yet owner Bob Gerner still manages to clear out a square foot of empty counter space for a promising new product.

Convenience store chains are developing innovative strategies to ward off big-box retailers.

World's biggest retailer says shoppers spent 25 percent of tax rebates at the store.

Wal-Mart has seen "an immediate and direct benefit to sales" in categories like consumer electronics.

by John Lofstock