Gain report ca3074 Page of usda foreign Agricultural Service gain report
CONVENIENCE STORES, GAS MARTS, KIOSKS
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CONVENIENCE STORES, GAS MARTS, KIOSKSCanada’s 8,342 chain convenience stores dot the Canadian landscape from coast to coast. While many are regional players, the gas bar companies operate outlets on a national level. As with the grocery sector, the convenience store industry is altering its appearance to compete in today’s demanding environment. With drugstores and supermarkets offering increasingly more convenience items in high-end, visually revamped environments, c-store retailers are being pushed to change and polish current operating strategies. For gas bars, competition within the industry is compounded by dwindling fuel profits, forcing stores to place more emphasis on products and merchandise, including fresh produce, coffee and prepared foods, to boost profit margins. The gas bar chain category is actually one of the most prevalent changes seen in this sector. Formerly, unbranded and lacking a wide selection of products, today the gas bar channel is a leader in service offerings, including branded coffee stations, ready-to-eat bars and take-home necessities. In an effort to grab a larger share of the convenience market, Canadian Tire, for example, has plans to aggressively double the number of stores it operates on a larger level. It is looking to the U.S. example of Sheetz as its model. This change has been occurring across the rest of the industry for some time. Mac’s Convenience Stores has partnered with quick-service chains, such as Subway, to meet the needs of the “dashboard diner,” while Couche-Tard is building a network of smaller stores in high-traffic areas, such as office buildings and shopping centers to generate higher sales per square foot. Several of the stores are co-branded with recognized quick-serve restaurants, further evolving convenience retailing. Sixty additional in-store restaurants are intended to open in 2003-04. Traditionally core c-store customers are adults shopping for traditional convenience products. Today, the teenage market is emerging as a new focused opportunity. While teenagers visit c-stores more frequently than adults, they reportedly spend less money. Alimentation Couche-Tard, one of Canada’s leading c-store chain retailers, is capitalizing on this emerging audience by increasing fast-food offerings and introducing new products, such as slushies, hoping to garner more of this audience’s disposable income. CONVENIENCE RETAILERS:
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