Gas Stations

Cumberland Farms, a convenience store fixture in New England and central Florida for half a century, once fielded more than 1,000 stores. But, it has slimmed down to 600 locations as it transforms itself from a strip-center and gas station dairy store to a chain of freestanding, modern C-stores providing an array of food service options and gasoline.

CVS Health Corp. reported lower profit in its first quarter amid pressure by more generic drugs and softer customer traffic.    Net income for the three months ended March 31 decreased 16.9% year over year to $953 million. CVS said the decline was primarily driven by the decline in operating profit, partially offset by lower interest expense of $31 million related to refinancing activity in the prior year as well as the improvement in the effective income tax rate, from 39.4% to 37.3%.    

A fast-growing convenience store operator has announced a major hiring initiative.   Sheetz said it is looking to hire more than 3,400 employees companywide. The hiring initiative aims to increase Sheetz's total employee count and number of full-time positions by creating and filling jobs at stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina.   

7-Eleven has accelerated its U.S. expansion by entering into the largest acquisition in its history.    The c-store retailer has agreed to buy the Sunoco chain of gas stations, which includes some 1,108 convenience stores located in 18 states, for a reported $3.3 billion.   

Convenience stores are poised for another strong quarter.    A combination of low gas prices, strong consumer confidence and warmer weather is expected to continue the year’s already strong sales at convenience stores into the second quarter of 2017, according to the results of a survey of c-store owners conducted by NACS.   A full 80% of convenience retailers expect in-store sales to increase this summer compared to last year, and 57% expect their fuel sales to increase compared to last summer.

7-Eleven continues to reduce electricity use in its stores.   The company has signed an agreement with TXU Energy to purchase 100% Texas wind energy for all its Texas stores located in competitive energy markets.    The 96-month wind energy agreement, which impacts 425 stores, starts June 1, 2018, and is expected to reduce 7-Eleven's carbon footprint by 6.7% while providing significant operating expense savings.  

Murphy USA is losing its senior VP, retail operations.   Marn Cheng will resign from his position on April 30. During his 17-year tenure, Cheng has held various leadership roles within the operations team, including retail operations, fuel supply, ethanol production, customer and store support.   He is resigning for personal reasons, and plans to spend more time with family in both Malaysia and the United States, according to Murphy USA.  

Cumberland Farms, a convenience store fixture in New England and central Florida for half a century, once fielded more than 1,000 stores. Today it has pared down to 600 stores as it transforms itself from a strip-center and gas station dairy store to a chain of freestanding, modern C-stores providing food service and gasoline, along the lines of Quik Check and Wawa.  

Payment card theft continue to wreak havoc on retailers and shoppers, alike.   In fact, the number of debit cards compromised at United States-based ATMs and merchants rose 70% in 2016, while the number of hacked card readers at U.S. ATMs, restaurants and merchants rose 30% — the highest level in the history of the FICO Card Alert Service, which monitors hundreds of thousands of ATMs and other readers in the U.S.  

Amazon is keeping all its options open when it comes to exploring new concepts.   The online giant is exploring an array of brick-and-mortar ideas, from electronics stores to stores that sell furniture and appliance, that would use technology in ways and have a dramatic impact on how other stores operate, reported The New York Times.