Industry Roundup: The Top 10 Most-Read Stories of September 2022
NATIONAL REPORT — The top headlines last month featured acquisitions and expansions by multiple retailers. In the latest Industry Roundup, we present the top 10 most-read stories for the month of September, based on reader views:
1) Five Consumer Behavior Trends That May Last Into 2023
The combination of rising prices, increased costs of living and ongoing social upheaval prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in financial problems for many consumers. As a result, consumers are growing thriftier and changing their behavior, according to NielsenIQ.
2) 7-Eleven's Sale of 70-Plus Stores Opens Door for Small Operators
7-Eleven Inc. is putting a for-sale sign on more than 70 properties. Thirty-five of the sites being offered are fee-owned properties and the remaining are leaseholds. All sites are being sold without convenience store branding.
3) Wawa Selects Site for First Alabama Convenience Store
The Pennsylvania-based convenience store operator is breaking ground on its first site in Alabama, located in the city of Fairhope. Construction has reportedly begun at the corner of Twin Beech Road and Highway 98, although an official start date has not been set.
4) GPM Investments Enters Two New Markets
GPM Investments LLC reached a deal to acquire approximately 150 convenience stores from Transit Energy Group for $375 million. With the transaction, GPM expands its retail footprint to Alabama and Mississippi.
5) Performance Food Group Brings Convenience Ops Under Core-Mark Banner
Now operating as Core-Mark, the convenience business of Performance Food Group (PFG) services more than 50,000 customers through 39 distribution centers across the United States and Canada. The decision came one year after PFG closed on its acquisition of Core-Mark Holding Co. Inc., which followed PFG's deal for Eby-Brown Co. LLC in 2019.
6) QuikTrip Will Enter Chicago in 2023
The convenience retailer is reportedly planning to open three convenience stores in the Chicago metropolitan area. One, in the site of a former Kmart store, will ring up customers starting next year.
7) FDA's Refusal to Disclose Marketing Denial Documents Sparks Juul Labs' Lawsuit
Juul Labs Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sept. 20 after the agency did not disclose documents supporting its marketing denial orders that would ban the company from selling e-cigarettes in the United States. Juul accused the FDA of invoking the deliberative process privilege to improperly withhold scientific materials that are "central" to understanding the basis for the sales ban.
8) Alimentation Couche-Tard Has Robust Pipeline of Future Stores
During the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, which ended July 17, the convenience store retailer expanded its network by building 30 new sites. The company also has 55 sites currently under construction, according to President and CEO Brian Hannasch.
9) Casey's CEO: Business Model Carries Retailer Through Challenging Times
Casey's General Stores Inc. President and CEO Darren Rebelez credits the retailer's business model for helping it weather the current challenges affecting food, labor and fuel. In January 2020, the convenience store operator unveiled a three-year strategic plan with three key pillars: reinvent the guest experience, create capacities through efficiencies, and be where the guest is through unit growth.
10) Circle K to Enter South Africa Through Master Franchise Agreement
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and Millat Convenience Ltd entered into a master license agreement that will bring the Circle K banner to South Africa. The first location in the Gauteng province was expected to open in late October.