Top 10 Chains

7-Eleven Inc.

No. 1

Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. remains at the top of the Top 100 with more than 8,000 stores in the United States. This number is poised to grow even more as the retailer pushes forward with its recently announced acquisition of Rockland, Mass.-based Tedeschi Food Shops Inc.

In addition, 7-Eleven is pursuing organic growth. The retailer spread its wings with the opening of its first store located inside a U.S. airport terminal at Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal. The c-store giant plans to open a second in-terminal store in its own backyard in the post-security section of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s (DFW) Terminal A this fall, followed by another DFW store in Terminal E at a future date.

The retailer has also been busy building up its franchise locations through its Zero Franchise Fee Initiative. Under the program — which ran through the end of June — the company waived the franchise fee on select U.S. 7-Eleven stores available for franchise, a savings of up to $80,000. Approximately 250 stores across the country were eligible for the initiative. The franchising process can take anywhere from five to seven months to complete.

Inside its stores, 7-Eleven is beefing up its offering. In recent months, the chain added Ultra Mobile prepaid service plans at more than 6,700 of its convenience stores nationwide. It also reached out to lottery players to expand its foodservice reach. Through a partnership with the Virginia Lottery, those testing their luck were able to purchase a 7-Eleven scratch-off ticket that included a coupon attached for a food item, regardless if the ticket was a lottery winner.

And in another highlight of this past year, 7-Eleven bolstered its technological reach with 7Rewards, a new loyalty platform on its mobile app. 7Rewards allows customers to receive a free beverage for every six purchased. Different from some loyalty programs, 7-Eleven counts every beverage its sells served in a 7-Eleven cup toward the seventh free item.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

No. 2

Alimentation Couche-Tard jumped up two spots to become the second-largest convenience store chain in the United States, thanks largely to its acquisition of Cary, N.C.-based The Pantry Inc.

News of Couche-Tard’s acquisition of the Southeast chain broke in mid-December and the transaction was completed this spring. The deal between the parent of Circle K and the parent of Kangaroo Express added approximately 1,500 c-stores to Couche-Tard’s existing portfolio of 6,000 retail locations throughout North America. In the U.S., the Laval, Quebec-based retailer has a total store count of 5,373 — 4,802 company-operated and 571 franchise/licensee locations.

In the past year, Couche-Tard also made moves overseas by penning an acquisition agreement with A/S Dansk Shell for its retail, commercial fleet, commercial fuels, aviation, and connected trading and supply products businesses. The businesses will be managed by Statoil Fuel and Retail A/S (SFR), a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Couche-Tard.

Shell’s Danish retail business comprises 315 sites, of which 225 are full-service stations, 75 are automated fuel stations and 15 are truck stops. Of the 315 sites, 140 are owned by Shell, 115 are leased from third parties and 60 are dealer-owned.

Most recently, in the states, the company’s Circle K Southwest division purchased 21 c-stores, 151 dealer fuel supply agreements and five development properties from Cinco J Inc. (d.b.a. Johnson Oil Co.), Tiger Tote Food Stores and their affiliates.

Couche-Tard’s busy growth year coincided with Brian Hannasch taking over the role of president and CEO in September. He replaced company founder Alain Bouchard, who now serves as executive chairman of the board of directors.

Shell Oil/Motiva Enterprises LLC

No. 3

Capitalizing on another year of growth, Shell Oil/Motiva Enterprises landed in the No. 3 spot on this year’s Top 100 list, down from its No. 2 spot last year. According to Nielsen TDLinx data, Shell’s retail network, which is comprised almost entirely of franchisees and licensees, includes more than 5,000 stores that generate annual sales of more than $11.8 billion.

Most recently, the Houston-based company continued its stride to become a top liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer when its parent company Royal Dutch Shell plc struck a deal to acquire BG Group for $70 billion. Not only will the deal make Shell an LNG powerhouse, but the transaction will add 25 percent to its oil and gas reserves and 20 percent to its production capabilities.

Additionally, Shell remains focused on growing its Fuel Rewards loyalty program, which launched in 2012. This year, the program hit the half-billion-dollar milestone in savings after less than three years. It currently has more than 5 million members and a national network of partners that includes more than 10,000 restaurants, 1,400-plus retail locations and nearly 700 online merchants.

Simultaneously, Shell has launched its largest North American fuel campaign and one of its largest campaigns ever for new Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline. According to Shell, NiTRO+ combines two key cleaning agents that perform better than the single component in the previous Shell V-Power formulation, as CSNews Online reported.

Energy Transfer Partners LP/Sunoco LP

Nos. 4&9

Two of the top 10 chains on this year’s Top 100 list are related: Sunoco LP (at No. 9) and its parent company Energy Transfer Partners LP (at No. 4).

Sunoco LP owns the former legacy Susser Petroleum Partners wholesale business. It also owns Aloha Petroleum, Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores (MACS) and Tigermart. Sunoco LP’s parent company, Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), is in the process of dropping down its entire retail division to Sunoco LP and reiterated in May that it will be done no later than mid-2017.

Once this transaction takes place, Sunoco LP will become one of the biggest players in the convenience store industry, as it will take on the Sunoco Inc., Stripes and Sac-N-Pac retail assets now owned by ETP. “[Sunoco] LP is on the path to become one of the leading wholesale and retail platforms in the country,” said Sunoco LP CEO Robert Owens.

As for Sunoco LP’s current assets, Owens noted Aloha and MACS are performing so well that the company is seeking future c-store acquisitions boasting similar assets to these two retailers. “We checked every box of what we are looking for in an acquisition [with those transactions],” Owens reported in May. “They have strong assets, demand growth in key markets and were acquired at attractive prices.”

The master limited partnership is also bullish on the future of the c-store industry thanks to the potential for growth and margin expansion in foodservice. “People are becoming increasingly more comfortable purchasing prepared food at convenience stores,” Owens relayed.

ETP’s current retail assets are also performing well, led by in-store merchandise sales. In 2015’s first quarter ended March 31, ETP’s retail division (primarily consisting of Stripes and Sac-N-Pac stores) achieved gross margins of $438 million, compared to $255 million in 2014’s first quarter. Motor fuel gallons sold throughout ETP’s retail division were also strong, increasing year over year from 1.392 billion gallons sold to 1.88 billion gallons sold.

Marathon Petroleum Corp.

No. 5

Moving up two spots to No. 5, Marathon Petroleum Corp. boasts an overall store count of 4,086 locations, 2,646 that are corporate-owned and 1,400 that are franchise/licensee.

The Findlay, Ohio-based company’s biggest boost came when it added Hess Corp.’s 1,200-store retail network to its Enon, Ohio-based Speedway LLC retail division in September. The $2.82-billion transaction also included Hess’ transport operations and shipper history on various pipelines.

As a result of this deal, Marathon is in the process of introducing the Speedway brand to a new region (the Northeast) and reintroducing it to another region (the Southeast). Rebranding efforts began in Florida before switching to the Northeast — mainly the New York and New Jersey area — in the spring. The company will turn its rebranding focus to the Carolinas later this year and finish all conversions by early 2016.

In addition to growing its footprint, Marathon is expanding upon the Speedway brand with its new Speedy Rewards MasterCard. The one-swipe technology allows customers to pay for their purchases and manage their rewards points with one card, eliminating the need for a separate Speedy Rewards membership card. Cardholders earn 50 points per dollar by using the card for purchases at Speedway and 10 points per dollar on all other purchases.

Speedway is not drawing all of Marathon’s time and attention, though, as the parent company rolled out Cents Off Marathon, an instant cents-off-per-gallon discount program on fuel purchases throughout its Marathon-branded marketing network.

As of late 2014, nearly 80 percent of Marathon’s independent jobbers and dealers had enrolled in the program, which uses technology developed by Drop Tank. The program will be made available through deployment and installation, occurring during this year.

BP North America

No. 6

BP takes the No. 6 spot in this year’s Top 100 list, dropping three positions from its consecutive No. 3 hold in 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011.

Nielsen TDLinx puts BP’s total store count at 3,945 — all of which are franchise/licensee locations. BP’s retail banners include Amoco, ampm, Arco, Arco Thrifty, BP, BP Connect and BP Shop. The company’s latest year-end sales amounted to approximately $14.3 billion.

Following suit to its testament of “strategic refocusing,” in the past year, Houston-based BP introduced a new technology solution deployed at the point-of-sale, inside PIN pads, electronic payment server, forecourt controller and network for its BP-branded retailers. In doing so, the company provides its BP-branded marketers the ability to accept EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) credit cards and debit cards. The technology platform is also designed to allow branded marketers to accept mobile payments and more effectively implement loyalty programs.

On the consumer side, British-based parent company BP plc teamed up with Synchrony Financial to provide new private-label and co-branded credit card programs for customers. The new BP credit card programs, launched in the second quarter of this year, are accepted for purchases at more than 7,000 BP gas stations, as well as other retail sites.

Additionally, on the consumer side, BP simplified its Driver Rewards program, whereby motorists can choose from three different loyalty cards: BP Visa with Driver Rewards, BP Credit Card with Driver Rewards and BP Driver Rewards Loyalty Card. BP-branded retailers now have an easier and more cost-effective program to manage as well.

Chevron Corp.

No. 7

After a year of no major acquisitions, Chevron slipped two spots in 2015 and landed at No. 7 on the Top 100. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company focused on internal improvements of existing locations rather than aggressive growth.

Chevron’s store count stands at 3,886 stores, of which 314 are corporate-owned and 3,572 are franchise/licensee locations, according to Nielsen TDLinx, which also reported its latest year-end sales at more than $24 billion. Its banners include Chevron, Chevron ExtraMile and Texaco.

This June, Chevron USA launched the Chevron and Texaco Xponent Rewards Card, a reloadable, prepaid card that lets users save five cents per gallon of fuel based on their everyday purchases at participating Chevron and Texaco stations. Cardholders can also increase fuel savings by using their card for purchases at participating merchant locations.

Chevron USA also now embraces mobile payment at its c-stores. The company in October 2014 began accepting Apple Pay, which lets consumers make payments using their Apple mobile devices if they own a Visa credit or debit card issued by Bank of America, Capital One, Citi Bank, Chase or Wells Fargo Bank. Chevron initially accepted Apple Pay for in-store transactions at 3,000 stores and later announced plans to add it at the pump in 2015.

Multiple surveys conducted in the past year showed that Chevron enjoys a good reputation with employees and customers alike. Chevron was praised for its friendly service in a study conducted by retail design firm King Retail Solutions, and the corporation ranked No. 155 on Forbes magazine’s America’s Best Employers 2015 list.

On the marketing front, Chevron launched fall campaigns based around the themes of two classic American pasttimes: country music and sports. This included the tailgate-themed University of Texas Football Instant Win Game and the Game Day Chef Challenge, which concluded in a grand finale cook-off at the 2015 Rose Bowl.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

No. 8

After holding steady at No. 6 for several years, Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp.’s retail arm dropped two ranks on this year’s Top 100 as other chains pursued ambitious growth and its own convenience store count saw a slight decrease.

ExxonMobil currently has 3,409 locations, all of which are franchise/licensee locations. Its c-store banners include Exxon On The Run, Exxon Tiger Mart, Mobil Mart, Mobil On The Run, Mobil and Mobil Snack Shop. The company’s latest year-end sales totaled approximately $8.3 billion, according to Nielsen TDLinx data.

Rumors that ExxonMobil would buy BP plc began to swirl in March after Exxon sold $8 billion of debt in its largest bond offering ever, but the company ultimately made no major acquisitions since last year’s Top 100 list.

Rather than increase its number of stores, Exxon has focused on ways to increase loyalty at its current locations and signed on with multiple platforms designed to provide added benefits to consumers. In June, the company added the Uber Partner Fuel Card powered by FleetCor and MasterCard to its Momentum Driver Rewards Program.

That same month, Exxon also joined up with AT&T Inc., Macy’s Inc., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Rite Aid Corp., Direct Energy and Hulu to launch Plenti, a U.S.-based coalition loyalty program that lets consumers earn and use points for purchasing a wide variety of products, regardless of what payment method they choose.

Casey’s General Stores Inc.

No. 10

Despite falling two spots to No. 10 on the Top 100 list, Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores turned in one of its best years ever. Nearly all aspects of its in-store operations had a banner 2015 fiscal year, with the foodservice, grocery, packaged beverages, salty snacks and tobacco categories leading the way.

The owner and operator of 1,890 convenience stores posted sales of more than $7.9 billion in its fiscal year ended April 30, and also saw profits rise significantly to $180.6 million.

Casey’s grew both organically and via acquisition during its latest fiscal year, opening 45 new-build stores and purchasing 36 locations. The retailer also completed 27 store replacements and 27 major remodels.

For its 2016 fiscal year that began May 1, Casey’s has set a target to build or acquire 72 to 108 stores and replace 25 locations. To help facilitate growth in its newest markets of Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, Casey’s is on track to open a second distribution center in Terre Haute, Ind., in February or March of 2016.

The Midwest retailer also plans to reach new customers via its online ordering service, which is rolling out chainwide. Customers can order online to indulge in pizza, sub sandwiches and related products. Casey’s plans to add this service to 300 stores per month and expects to have online ordering available in all of its stores by end of this calendar year.

Also in the foodservice realm, pizza delivery is another source of continued growth, as Casey’s plans to expand this service to an additional 100 stores in its fiscal year 2016.

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