A Conversation with Three Leading Convenience Retailers
In Thursday’s closing Super Session, a panel of three top convenience retailers outlined steps their companies have taken to be successful and respond to the needs of their consumers.
Jim Fiene, chief operating officer, Open Pantry Food Markets of Wisconsin, explained how his company “recreated” Open Pantry after purchasing 39 conventional c-stores in the Milwaukee area. The objective was to create a “Starbucks-like atmosphere” that would attract female shoppers as well as the “bubbas” of the world and customers just stopping for gas.
So, Open Pantry closed 13 of the stores that Fiene said could not be transformed, and overhauled the remaining 26, adding seating areas, leather couches, free internet, slate flooring – all designed to make shoppers feel comfortable and at home. The result has proven successful, he said, adding that lunch traffic is terrific and the internet draws many workers who are unable to surf the Web or check personal email at work.
The company focuses on quality and execution of smart marketing ideas, Fiene explained, and averages just under 10,000 SKUs in each unit. “We want to be the secondary grocery store,” he said. “We want to play in the world that other c-stores have gotten out of. The word ‘pantry’ means something – a place to get my groceries. That’s just what we want to be.” So, unlike many c-store operators, Open Pantry carries multiple choices of such products as catsup and mustard and makes sure they are in-stock on products consumers need, such as laundry detergent.
Charlene Kovacsik, marketing director at Pacific Convenience & Fuels, said her company took over stores previously operated by a major oil company and is a franchisee of Circle K. “Driving costs out of the system was important, as was offering foodservice that would compete with QSRs,” she said.
By working to attract the “soccer mom” trade, her company has been able to broaden its appeal without losing the traditional c-store customers. “We are working on fresh,” she said. “It’s also the way we merchandise products. We are now looking at a branded sandwich for grab-and-go.”
The offerings there include a mix of branded, to draw traffic, and private label to help boost margins. “We want the customer to recognize the quality and feel comfortable taking our food home and consuming it,” she explained.
Her company’s partnership with its distributor has been important to its ability to execute its new strategy she said, including a strategy to get new products in quickly and to get them out of the store when their time has passed.
Jeff Turpin, chairman & CEO, Worsley Operating Corporation, said his company changed its grocery mix with the objective of improving its margin, and said being known for having new products first is important to its success. “We’ve got to have something different for our stores that the other guys don’t offer,” he said. Initially, when his firm took over the chain, “We cleaned out SKUs,” Turpin said. “But now we are adding, not taking away.”
Like the other two speakers, Turpin said social networking is part of his strategy, although it is treading carefully in those waters. “When we have specials, we communicate it out like that (using Facebook). We are going to have to dedicate resources in marketing to do that. This is going to be very important stuff.”
The session, moderated by Mitch Morrison, group editor, CSP Information Group, was sponsored by Altria Sales & Distribution.
