CSNews Presents Retailer Innovator Award to QuikTrip

TULSA, Okla. — During a presentation ceremony held at the company’s headquarters last week, QuikTrip Corp. President and CEO Chet Cadieux accepted the Convenience Store News 2015 Retailer Innovator of the Year award on behalf of his team.

The self-effacing chief executive credited QuikTrip's employees for the retailer's success.

According to CSNews Editorial Director Don Longo, who was on hand to make the presentation, the Retailer Innovator of the Year award goes to a retailer company that, through its innovation, is playing a leadership role in shaping the future of the convenience store industry.

As Retailer Innovator of the Year, QuikTrip was featured on the cover of CSNews' October issue, which included an exclusive interview with Cadieux about the chain's leadership in convenience foodservice and employee relations, among its other keys to success.

“We believe there is always a better way to do things and we believe to remain successful that we simply have to get better every day. Sometimes we stay ahead and sometimes we fall behind … but we’re always working at it,” Cadieux told CSNews during the interview.

QT, as it’s known to many of its customers, is the nation’s eighth-largest convenience store chain in company-operated units, with 700-plus stores generating more than $11 billion in revenue across 11 states.

Over its 57-year history, QT was one of the first to operate all its stores 24 hours a day; became a leading seller of motor fuels in all the markets in which it operates; and is now becoming a major factor in improving the perception of fresh foodservice in the c-store industry.

At the beginning of this year, the chain rolled out its new, highly praised, fresh, made-to-order food and beverage concept — QT Kitchens — to more than 90 percent of its stores.

Also this year, QuikTrip earned a spot on CSNews’ Top 20 Growth Chains list for the fourth year in a row; was named for the 12th straight year to Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For; and achieved a nod on Fortune’s inaugural list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials.

Previous Retailer Innovator of the Year winners have included Pennsylvania-based Sheetz Inc. in 2014 and Wawa Inc. in 2013, and Georgia-based RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. in 2012.