Convenience Store News Top 100 Chains: Comings & Goings
NATIONAL REPORT — Three convenience store companies arrived on the 2024 Convenience Store News Top 100 list — S&S Petroleum Inc. (at No. 79t), Byrne Dairy Inc. (No. 91t) and J&H Oil Inc. (No. 94) — just as three others departed following notable merger-and-acquisition activity in 2023.
In what was arguably one of the most-talked about deals of the year, Salt Lake City-based Maverik — Adventure's First Stop acquired Kum & Go LC in August. The addition of more than 400 convenience stores boosted Maverik up the ranks. However, the transaction marked Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go's exit from the convenience channel. Kum & Go ranked No. 17 on the 2023 Top 100.
COPEC Inc., the former parent company of MAPCO Express and a leading South America-based retail company, also took the exit this year after holding the No. 21 spot last year. In November, a subsidiary of COPEC sold the 300-plus-store MAPCO portfolio to two buyers, Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and Lawrenceville, Ga.-based Majors Management Inc.
One other name missing from this year's Top 100 is TravelCenters of America Inc. (TA), which sat at No. 27 on the 2023 ranking. As a result of bp's $1.3 billion acquisition of the chain in spring 2023, TA dropped from the list as a standalone company.
Looking ahead, at least two companies may be making their last appearances on the Top 100.
Cal's Convenience Inc., based in Frisco, Texas, captured the No. 33 spot this year. However, shortly after the rankings were compiled in March 2024, the company's Stripes convenience stores were acquired by Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. The $950 million transaction closed in April.
While Cal's disappearance from the Top 100 is all but guaranteed, the future of No. 70 SQRL remains up in the air. After experiencing a quick growth spurt in late 2023, reports have surfaced that the Little Rock, Ark.-based company is selling off assets in the face of a financial crunch.
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