Industry Roundup: The Top 10 Most-Read Stories of July 2019

NATIONAL REPORT — Acquisitions and their aftermath got readers' attention last month, along with predictions about the future and yet another state raising the age for legal tobacco purchases. In the latest Industry Roundup, we present the top 10 most-read stories for the month of September, based on reader views:

1) EG Group Reaches Deal to Acquire Cumberland Farms
The acquisition of Cumberland Farms will take the EG Group's U.S. network to nearly 1,700 stores, operating in 30 states and retailing over 2.5 billion gallons of fuel with merchandise sales of more than $3 billion on an annualized basis.

2) Who Is the CBD Consumer?
In the past six months, 15 percent of adults aged 21 and older have consumed CBD products, according to BDS Analytics. Of those, 40 percent have a college degree or higher. And in following the trend of consumers looking for healthier and local products — which the convenience store industry has been responding to recently — the CBD consumer also falls into this category.

3) The Top 100 Convenience Store Chains of 2019
There's a new trifecta at the helm of the 2019 Convenience Store News Top 100 ranking. This year, Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) joins stalwarts 7-Eleven Inc. and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. in the top three positions on the annual list.

4) Marathon Begins Transitioning NOCO Express Stores to Its Speedway Network
Convenience store shoppers are beginning to say goodbye to the NOCO Express banner. Three months after Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) inked a definitive agreement to acquire the majority of NOCO Express stores in upstate New York, MPC started reimaging the c-stores to its Speedway brand.

5) What 7-Eleven's Joseph DePinto Says the Next 50 Years Will Bring for Convenience Retailing
In 1969, there were 11,000 convenience stores nationwide, with approximately $2.3 billion in sales, according to the Convenience Store News Industry Report from that year. Fast forward to 2019 and there are approximately 153,237 convenience stores operating in the United States, with $661.4 billion in sales.

6) 7-Eleven's Parent Company Sees Opportunities for Fresh Food Offer in U.S.
7-Eleven Inc.'s parent company Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. is giving two thumbs up to the convenience store's efforts in fresh food. On July 18, the Japanese company announced that 7-Eleven's U.S. operations reported the highest operating income in its history, and saw a 3.4-percent comparable store sales increase during the first quarter of 2019, with fresh food and 7-Select private brand products driving results.

7) Couche-Tard's Global Circle K Rebranding Effort Reaches Significant Milestone
According to the chief executive, Couche-Tard "has made tremendous progress" this year expanding the global Circle K brand to more than 5,600 stores in North America and more than 2,000 stores in Europe. "The most exciting benchmark this quarter was the finalization of the rebranding project in Europe, as Ireland is now complete," Hannasch said, adding that "the march west" in the U.S. is proceeding at a rapid pace.

8) Ohio Governor Signs Tobacco 21 Measure Into Law
With the stroke of Gov. Mike DeWine's pen, Ohio became the latest state to increase the legal minimum age to buy tobacco products. Ohio's Tobacco 21 measures was part of the state's budget that DeWine signed on July 18. The new law applies to all tobacco products — from cigarettes and cigars to rolling papers, liquids and other accessories involved with smoking or vaping.

9) C-store Retailers Celebrate National Hot Dog Day
Multiple convenience store retailers celebrated National Hot Dog Day on July 17 with free dogs and other deals, including Love's Travel Stops, Pilot Flying J, TravelCenters of America and MAPCO.

10) PHOTO GALLERY: Veganism Meets Convenience Retailing at Philadelphia C-store
When people think of a convenience store, what often comes to mind is the typical c-store fare: salty snacks, candy, roller grill items, packaged beverages, grocery essentials and maybe even a take-home meal. They most likely do not think of these items being vegan. However, in today’s modern c-store space, V Marks the Shop is a newcomer looking to fill that niche.