Convenience Management Services Inc. Rebrands to Strasburger
TEMPLE, Texas — Convenience Management Services Inc. (CMSI), a privately held retail consulting, operations and management provider serving the small-format retail industry nationwide, is changing its name from CMSI to Strasburger.
The company has been built on four generations of the Strasburger family in the grocery, convenience and small-format retail business. Over time, it has been involved with almost 10,000 retail management site operations in 33 countries globally and 35 U.S. states.
In 2012, CEO Roy Strasburger bought the company from his family to focus on small-format retail management services in the United States.
"The decision to change our company name and rebrand as Strasburger reflects the trust that has been placed in our ability as the reliable stewards of our clients’ most valuable assets," said Roy, who is a regular columnist for Convenience Store News. "At Strasburger, our passion is applying our 60-plus years of knowledge to successfully operate convenience stores, QSRs, car washes, quick lubes, and other small-format coffee and food-to-go shops for companies large and small who, for various reasons, don’t have the expertise, infrastructure or desire to operate them."
Strasburger has a strong legacy in the convenience and retail fuel industries, beginning in 1967 when Roy’s father Tommy opened Zippy Food Stores in Temple, shortly followed by Arco dealerships in 1968. In 1986, Tommy discovered the opportunity for international growth in Australia and opened a c-store chain named Quix, which led to a joint venture with Mobil in Australia. Eventually, under Roy’s leadership, the company’s global retail marketing and consulting services expanded to Chile, Austria, Mexico and 27 other countries.
"I have known the Strasburger family for 54 years," said Drayton McLane Jr., former CEO of McLane Grocery Co., former owner of the Houston Astros and current owner of The McLane Group. "I’ve worked with them not only in Central Texas, but also in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. Tommy and Roy Strasburger are icons in the convenience channel, as well as in Temple, where both Strasburger and McLane have their roots. It is no surprise that Roy is extending the Strasburger legacy by providing leadership and personal values to a business that continues to grow under Roy’s leadership."
Since 1983, Strasburger has been a leader in the U.S., providing turnkey retail site contract operations, staffing services, accounting services and retail consulting. In addition, Strasburger’s Dealer Pro provides a fully transparent professional dealer retail operations program, while the Rapid Retail program is available for landowners and property managers who have vacant space in their strip center, malls and power centers where Strasburger can turn vacant retail space into a vibrant customer experience, according to the company.
"Throughout its history, Strasburger has always maintained a culture of family, open communication and connectivity," Roy said. "Although our staff is spread out all over the U.S., we maintain a close and interconnected work environment that supports and encourages employee collaboration across all levels of the company. This results in better support and management of our clients’ site operations, and the best customer service in the c-store industry.
"We are seeing significant challenges in retailing," he added. "I am extremely proud that Strasburger is doing all we can to bring value to small-format retail in good times and bad."
Drawing on his experience providing retail services around the world, Roy has been able to combine his years of operations and management expertise with a team of retail, technology and operations professionals to become the industry leader in providing retail site operations, Strasburger said in a statement.
"Roy’s contribution to the NACS community has been considerable," said Bill Douglass, CEO of Sherman, Texas-based Douglass Distributing. "As Roy’s co-vice-chair of the NACS Executive Committee, I experienced firsthand Roy’s intelligence and insights. He was always willing to share his knowledge and experience about convenience retailing and international trends, which helped enhance everyone’s performance. Roy is committed to the industry and his clients."
Strasburger has built on its heritage in convenience and small-format retailing to lead innovation in all aspects of retail management for single, multiple and chain store operations. Strasburger’s Kiosk Korner provides a professional retail offer for office buildings, apartment complex or college dorms.
"The growth of Strasburger retail business operations closely mirrors the growth of NACS and the industry as a whole," commented Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives for NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing.
"The Strasburgers were early entrants into the global marketplace and helped grow the industry to a point unrecognizable from when they started," he added. "And they also have given back to NACS: a Strasburger has served on the NACS Board of Directors in four different decades (Tommy 1975-81 and Roy 1998-2004), and Roy has shared innovations in his retail operations in the acclaimed NACS Ideas 2 Go video series, as well as served as moderator and speaker at countless NACS events."