How small c-stores can survive
From the rise and fall of the COVID-19 pandemic to ballooning inflation and interest rates, difficult economic conditions have forced many small c-store operators to sell to competitors that are seeking more scale.
Large c-store companies have pricing power and economies of scale that make it easier to weather turbulent economic times, while their juggernaut marketing programs boost brand awareness even outside their main areas of operation.
These brands are moving into more and more communities, and their strategic initiatives — like expanding foodservice programs or testing retail media networks — dominate the industry conversation.
All of which can leave small-scale operators wondering how they can stay competitive.
Part of the challenge, said Mike Lawshe, founder of c-store design and consulting firm Paragon Solutions, is being able to look beyond the big chains' playbooks to define success and set strategy.
'The thing that drives me a little crazy is when we have customers come in and say, 'I want to build a [QuikTrip], a Buc-ee's,' said Mike Lawshe. 'Well, you can't. You're in a different game.'
Even if a retailer doesn't have the scale of a large regional chain, there are a few things they can do to keep their business standing strong even among the industry giants.
Solve problems, find niches
Relying on smokes and Cokes is no longer going to be enough, experts pointed out.
'The Coca Cola they're buying is the exact same Coca Cola in every single c-store,' said Kevin Farley, chief client officer for c-store consultancy W. Capra. 'You have to change what you offer outside of this traditional c-store offering for them to come into your store.'
Many small and mid-size c-store chains are adding proprietary QSRs or building bigger stores that offer prepared foods in a broader effort to compete with restaurants. Before then, there have been significant changes like the reduction of service centers or the move toward food-focused stores that aim to compete with QSRs.
These changes have left a vacuum in the industry, said Lawshe, creating space for 'someone with a little creativity, someone wanting to change the industry' to step in and cater to these needs.
Gas N Wash added a Mickey's Greek-style restaurant to one of its sites.
Permission granted by Gas N Wash
Small operators could test the waters with new, efficient technology, like Family Express has done with its recently launched mobile app and AI-fueled management software. Or maybe small retailers want to address the lack of third spaces with a welcoming new design, like The Rusty Lantern. They could even try opening in nontraditional locations like sports and music arenas, a tactic GoMart and Wally's have tested.
Even within areas like fresh foodservice, which is growing more commonplace in convenience retail, there are ways to iterate and stand out. This could mean partnering with local restaurants, the way Gas N Wash has, or developing a proprietary program like Gastro High Octane Eats at Schmitz Sunoco.
'Who's going to challenge the norm?' Lawshe said. 'Who's going to bring technology? Who's going to have the best solution?'
Building the brand
Small retailers also need to improve their brand strategy to connect with customers.
There are many ways for retailers to tell their story. They can promote their history or their mission and share their values with customers — something that's especially important for younger shoppers.
'This generation is very brand aware and very brand loyal,' said Austin Burns, president and CEO of Paragon Solutions. 'And there's a really good opportunity out there for these retailers to grab onto.'
This can look like Buc-ee's, where the company mascot is plastered everywhere and its fans make trips just to visit its stores. Or it can look like Rutter's, which often promotes its 270-year history in its home state of Pennsylvania and ties its roots as a dairy into the marketing of products like milk and egg nog.
However, if a chain is hoping to get acquired, building a strong identity could work against it.
Art Sebastian pointed to TXB as an example. While the chain is in a good position — well known and well loved — if it did want to sell, it might have a difficult time.
'The way they've built a brand, it would be hard for a big player to acquire them and just weave them into their system,' said Sebastian, CEO of c-store advisory firm NextChapter. 'Casey's just can't take that chain and slap pizza in there, right?'
Experts emphasized retailers need to figure out what their value is to the shopper and how to connect. Differentiating their offering and experience from the big players to the point where people are talking about it among friends and on social media has become a valuable commodity.
'You have a real opportunity now,' said Burns. 'Your brand is more valuable than the real estate.'
TXB is an example of a regional player that's build a strong brand.
Permission granted by TXB
Know when it's time to cut losses
C-stores should look for ways to update their stores in order to keep them competitive — but they should also know when the extra investment just isn't worth it, experts say.
If a store is underperforming and the owner can't or won't invest back into it, ownership should ask themselves if the site is still worth running. There's a lot of data out there that can help retailers make the decision, Burns noted.
With larger companies expanding their reach and some smaller companies innovating to change the game, it could just hasten the decline of aging locations that don't get updated.
'We see it all the time, whether it's a Buc-ee's or [QuikTrip] or RaceTrac, going up against legacy stores across the street,' said Lawshe. 'And those legacy stores, they just go in the tank.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tariff-fueled surge in container shipping rates shows signs of peaking
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Container shipping rates continued their climb this week, fueled by the temporary tariff pause between the U.S. and China, but there are signs that demand underpinning the surge is moderating, financial analysts and maritime consultants said. Ocean vessels transport more than 80% of goods traded globally. Hulking container vessels operated by companies like MSC and Maersk ferry toys and apparel to Walmart stores and parts to factories run by major manufacturers such as Ford Motor Co. Off-contract spot rates for moving container cargo are seen as a gauge of economic conditions. Maritime consultancy Drewry on Thursday said its World Container Index jumped 41% week-over-week to $3,527 per 40-foot container (FEU). The index was up 70% in the last four weeks, spurred by the May 12 U.S.-China trade truce that cut China tariffs to 30% from the 145% rate that collapsed trade between the world's two largest economies. Freight rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles, home to the busiest U.S. seaport, surged 57% to $5,876 per FEU in the past week and 117% since May 8, Drewry said. That rate is down 2% from a year ago and well below the $10,000-plus rates seen during the height of the COVID supply chain crunch. The closely watched Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, which tracks spot rates from the world's busiest container port in Shanghai, is on track to report another gain this week, Jefferies shipping analyst Omar Nokta said in a client note. The underlying SCFI route to the U.S. West coast was $5,172 per FEU last week and the latest spot rates are closer to $6,000, Nokta said. Still, those rates may be peaking as quotes for the second half of June are closer to the $5,000 to $5,500 per FEU range, he said. Drewry's Container Forecaster expects demand to weaken again in the second half of this year, which would cause rates to fall again. The volatility and timing of rate changes will depend on the outcome of legal challenges to Trump's tariffs and on capacity changes related to the introduction of port fees on Chinese ships, Drewry said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
One of Brooklyn's oldest homes has listed for $5.95M
A home in Brooklyn Heights not only offers a glimpse of old New York — but also the chance to live in a strong piece of local history. Built in 1829, making this one of the oldest residences in the borough, the clapboard Federal-style home at 69 Orange St. has just hit the market for $5.95 million, The Post has learned. It offers not only four to five bedrooms and a private garden, but also what locals say is a living link to the Underground Railroad. Indeed, this property is believed to have been part of the network that led escaped slaves to their freedom. Advertisement 19 One of Brooklyn's oldest homes, a meticulously preserved 1829 Federal-style residence at 69 Orange St., has hit the market for $5.95 million, offering not just rare architectural charm but deep historical roots tied to the abolitionist movement. Vibra Inc 19 An archival image of the home's exterior. Getty Images To walk through the house, which includes a mansard roof and Victorian-era gingerbread trim, is to step back into a version of Brooklyn that predates the Civil War. Advertisement The home, landmarked as part of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, still retains original handrails, moldings, hardware, six fireplaces and even milk-paste paint. But the real stories are below the surface. 'My late husband who died last year, Henry, discovered the crawl space,' current owner Rasa McKean, 73, told The Post of a tell-tale feature inside the dwelling. 19 Located beside the famed Plymouth Church — once led by anti-slavery preacher Henry Ward Beecher — the landmarked clapboard home is rumored to have served as a stop along the Underground Railroad. Getty Images Advertisement 19 Henry Ward Beecher. Getty Images 'In the cellar, the walls are made of large stones, not bricks. He noticed one was slightly out of place and suspected something was behind it. After wiggling it loose, it was clear there was an opening. We believe it was part of the Underground Railroad.' That hunch is supported by the home's immediate neighbor, Plymouth Church, a cornerstone of the 19th-century abolitionist movement. 19 Current owner, Rasa McKean, recalled how her late husband, Henry McKean, discovered hidden crawl spaces and stone-lined tunnels leading toward the church. Monica Luque Advertisement 19 Originally owned by members of the influential Gracie and Middagh families, the house boasts original details such as milk-paste paint, molding, and hardware. Vibra Inc 19 The historic home has preserved over the last three decades by the McKeans in an effort to maintain its historic integrity. Vibra Inc Its first preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, famously auctioned enslaved people to freedom from the pulpit, which drew the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain to worship. McKean said she and her late husband found additional clues while doing outdoor chores. 'We dug up the garden to replace the soil, and that's when we discovered a tunnel underneath, leading along the back fence,' she recalled. 'It looked like it went all the way to the church.' McKean and her husband, Henry McKean, a mathematics professor, bought the home in the early 1990s for $345,000 after spotting its photo in a Montague Street real estate office. Over the next three decades, the couple made it their mission to preserve it — eschewing modern renovations in favor of historical fidelity. 19 Listing rep Monica Luque, who calls the home 'a museum,' said they've even written a preservation clause into the sale. Vibra Inc Advertisement 19 Rasa McKean is hoping the city might step in to honor her husband Henry McKean's dying wish to protect the property for future generations. Vibra Inc 19 The home maintains six original fireplaces from when it was first built. Vibra Inc 19 Another fireplace with intricate moldings. Vibra Inc 'The other parishioners' houses around the church all participated in the Underground Railroad, but they're gone now,' McKean said. 'Ours is one of the few that remains — and we changed all the electrical systems, water pipes and heating in a way that preserved the history.' Advertisement Their preservation efforts extended to its decorations. 'They tried all these years to keep the same paint, which was a milk paste paint,' said listing representative Monica Luque of Douglas Elliman. 'They only did what was absolutely necessary in terms of heating and cooling and plumbing, but everything else is there. All the original bones are there.' Luque is now marketing the home alongside co-agent Gabriel Suarez, and said the late McKean's wish was that the city step in to preserve the house after his death. 'It would be amazing if the city or the state bought it instead and kept it,' she said. 'It is a museum.' Advertisement 19 An antique wall-mounted crank telephone used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This style of phone was often used in homes or businesses before rotary dial and push-button phones became widespread. It's a fitting detail in a historical preserved home like 69 Orange St. Vibra Inc 19 An antique gas stove, likely from the 1930s. Vibra Inc 19 The dining room. Vibra Inc Though the home is already protected from demolition under its landmark designation, Luque noted that many historic interiors in the neighborhood have not fared as well. Advertisement 'Everyone else — if they didn't tear them down, because they must be preserved as landmarks, thank God, then they destroy them on the inside and make them completely modern,' she said. 'This family tried so hard to preserve it.' Though the home is already protected under its landmark status, Luque said the owners had begun the process of seeking official certification recognizing the property as part of the Underground Railroad. She noted that while such designations can take years, the documentation they've gathered — from physical tunnel evidence to oral histories — will eventually help secure the home's formal place in the national historic record. To that end, the listing includes a preservation clause to ensure future buyers maintain the home's integrity, Luque added. 19 A living room with built-in bookshelves. Vibra Inc 19 A bedroom. Vibra Inc 19 The backyard and garden. Vibra Inc McKean, who now lives in a co-op in Manhattan, said the decision to sell was both emotional and necessary. 'I'm in my 70s and it's too much for me to take care of, and my husband is gone,' she said. 'Our mission was we wanted to leave a legacy. We wanted to maintain the history. Because … it's part of you.' Every room in the 2.5-bath home tells a story. There's a parlor with views of the leafy 55-by-25-foot backyard, which borders Greenacre Park and a library filled with built-ins that recalls a quieter century. Two additional rooms function well as offices or nurseries. It's a residential time capsule — but one grounded in some of the most pivotal movements in American history. The home's original owners, members of the Gracie and Middagh families, were part of Brooklyn's early elite. Middagh Street and the 'fruit streets' of Pineapple, Orange and Cranberry owe their names to the same lineage — legend says Lady Middagh renamed them to poke fun at the neighborhood's pretension. 19 An aerial view of the home. Vibra Inc 19 Map showing routes of the 'Underground Railroad,' used by fugitive slaves to escape into the free states of the United States or Canada, between 1830 -1865. Getty Images The house later passed to Henry L. Pratt, a deacon of Plymouth Church and ally of Rev. Beecher. A manufacturer and devout abolitionist, Pratt reportedly hosted religious leaders and Underground Railroad operatives in the home. McKean notes the uncanny coincidence that her husband, also named Henry Pratt McKean, was born in Massachusetts — just like Pratt. 'That always felt like more than a coincidence,' she said. McKean still visits the house frequently. 'Every time I leave the house, I cry,' she said. 'It really makes a big difference when you work on your home. It feels more like yourself. When you make all the decisions about the details and how you want things, it becomes part of you.' The home is awaiting a buyer who not only values old Brooklyn charm, but also recognizes the weight of its legacy. 'The city has to make a decision,' Luque said. 'Not only to purchase it, but to preserve it.'
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Supreme Court sides with Smith & Wesson, blocks Mexico's $10B suit against gunmakers over cartel violence
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies' business practices have fueled tremendous cartel violence and bloodshed. The unanimous ruling tossed out the case under U.S. laws that largely shield gunmakers from liability when their firearms are used in crime. Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson — which still produces guns in Springfield, Massachusetts — had appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations in which the companies themselves are accused of violating the law. But the justices found that Mexico hadn't made a plausible argument that the companies had knowingly allowed guns to be trafficked into the country. 'It does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly) assisted,' Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court's opinion. Mexico had asked the justices to let the case play out, saying it was still in its early stages. Asked about the case during her daily news briefing, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed to another suit the country filed in 2022 against five gun shops and distributors in Arizona. 'There are two trials,' she said. 'We're going to see what the result is, and we'll let you know.' The case the Supreme Court tossed Thursday began in 2021, when the Mexican government filed a blockbuster suit against some of the biggest gun companies, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock. Smith & Wesson moved its headquarters and much of its operations from Springfield to Tennessee, but the company retains about 1,000 employees at its plant in Western Massachusetts. Operations that remain in Springfield include its forge, metal working, machining, finishing the assembly of Colt 1911-style handguns and revolver assembly. On Thursday, Mark Smith, Smith & Wesson president and CEO, said in a statement that the court's unanimous decision 'shutting down this ridiculous lawsuit' represented 'a big win for Smith & Wesson, but our industry, American sovereignty and, most importantly, every American who wishes to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights.' 'This suit, brought by Mexico in collaboration with U.S.-based anti-Second Amendment activist groups, was an affront to our nation's sovereignty and a direct attack on the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,' Smith said in the statement. He called it the latest attack on the firearms industry 'in a blatant abuse of our legal system to advance their anti-constitutional agenda. 'To all American patriots — you can rest assured that Smith & Wesson will always stand and fight for your constitutional rights at every turn,' Smith said. Mexico has strict gun laws and has just one store where people can legally buy firearms. But thousands of guns are smuggled in by the country's powerful drug cartels every year. The Mexican government says at least 70% of those weapons come from the United States. The lawsuit claims that companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to cash in on that market. The companies reject Mexico's allegations, arguing the country's lawsuit comes nowhere close to showing they're responsible for a relatively few people using their products to commit violence. The trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation applauded the ruling, adding that gunmakers work with U.S. authorities to prevent gun trafficking. 'This is a tremendous victory for the firearm industry and the rule of law,' said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel. A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit under a 2005 law that protects gun companies from most civil lawsuits, but an appeals court revived it. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston found it fell under an exception to the shield law for situations in which firearm companies are accused of knowingly breaking laws in their business practices. That exception has come up in other cases, including in lawsuits stemming from mass shootings. Families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, for example, argued it applied to their lawsuit because the gunmaker had violated state law in the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, in which 20 first graders and six educators were killed. The families eventually secured a landmark $73 million settlement with Remington, the maker of the rifle. The Supreme Court's ruling doesn't appear to affect similar cases, said David Pucino, legal director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 'All survivors, in the United States, in Mexico, and anywhere else, deserve their day in court, and we will continue to support them in their fight for justice,' he said. Read the original article on MassLive.
