7-Eleven to buy Stripes

[pseudo3d]

This mostly affects Texas and Louisiana, but yesterday, it was announced Sunoco would sell its Stripes gas station chain to 7-Eleven, which would convert them to their stores, selling 1000 stores to them and another 200 to others (presumably due to overlap, which does exist in Central and North Texas, not so much east of it).

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... llion-deal

[mbz321]

They are also taking over Sunoco's own APlus chain in the Northeast (except a few franchised stores, although I believe most stores branded as APlus are corporate). I wonder how this is going to work out as there are many locations within a spitting distance of an existing 7 Eleven. It's kind of a good move for them though because very few 7 Eleven locations in my part of the Northeast have fuel (and the ones that do are really small...maybe 4-8 pumps max.). I still don't see them taking away too much market share though..7 Eleven does relatively poorly in this area due to better options (Wawa, and Royal Farms which seems to be pushing further North).

[wnetmacman]

This mostly affects Texas and Louisiana, but yesterday, it was announced Sunoco would sell its Stripes gas station chain to 7-Eleven, which would convert them to their stores, selling 1000 stores to them and another 200 to others (presumably due to overlap, which does exist in Central and North Texas, not so much east of it).

Read carefully.
1. 7-Eleven is buying the stores, PLUS the Stripes and Laredo Taco brands.
2. Stripes doesn't operate outside Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. They operate about 700 stores. 1,100 under Stripes and Aplus are being sold.
3. 7-Eleven specifically does not mention conversion. When a company buys the name, it is usually the opposite.
4. The 200 remaining stores will be sold separately due to overlap. 7-Eleven still has an extensive network of stores in North and Central Texas.

The next generation stores they recently opened in Louisiana and Corpus Christi are nice. They prominently feature Laredo Taco and a good deal of other hot foods, plus a huge set of gas pump islands and a car wash where you get a 20 cent/gallon discount. I can't believe 7-Eleven would want to lose that, plus they get a fuel brand again, better than Citgo in the 80's.

Stripes is a hot, fast growing brand. I am not surprised by this.

[storewanderer]

I had always heard good things about Stripes and its food service offering. 7-Eleven US will destroy anything good about Stripes, if they rebrand it (my only experience with Stripes was in Lawton, OK with some old former Circle Ks and I felt they were about on par with a US 7-Eleven: not very good). The problem with 7-Eleven is their franchise model in the US is one that does not lend itself to quality operations.

Also 7-Eleven cannot purchase the Oklahoma Stripes due to the pre-existing situation they have in Oklahoma with the "other" 7-Eleven (ironically, the OKC 7-Elevens operated by that third party are actually quite good, much better than the regular US 7-Eleven).

It will be interesting to see how they handle the fuel. The problem with 7-Eleven is while I am sure they would like a fuel brand, numerous of their sites in current configuration do not meet minimum branding requirements for any of the major oil companies. Things like no public restroom, nonexistent cleanliness standards, combined with many sites that only have 2 gas pumps are things that the major oil companies simply have no incentive to brand.

In my market, 7-Eleven has been hurt significantly by the expansion of Maverik. While 7-Eleven has 50+ stores in this market and Maverik only has 7 stores, it is surprising how much it has hurt them. They have removed fuel from some sites, some sites only offer unleaded and no longer offer all grades of fuel, and traffic is dismal in many of the sites. When you go to a market that has a strong Quik Trip, Wawa, or Sheetz presence, there are few to no 7-Elevens and the few that exist are typically in lousy neighborhoods and do not offer fuel. There are two classes of c-stores in the US: ones that have nice clean stores, 100% corporate operated networks, large format stores, and expanded food offerings (Quik Trip, Wawa, newer Maveriks, Sheetz, etc.) then there are the F-Grade c-stores like 7-Eleven that are dirty, limited food options, poor service, and not very safe feeling.

7-Eleven's Japan-based management needs to take a look at their stores in the US and what type of operation they have here with their franchise network and the poor standards. I think they would be very ashamed. Any monies they invest to expand in the US will be wasted because the better c-store operators can simply find a lot nearby or across the street, build one of their A-grade stores, and kill traffic at the nearby F-Grade 7-Eleven.

I have noticed Circle K seems to try to make trade offs for its not very good stores (though I find them a lot better than a 7-Eleven) by having some better prices; things like any size drink 79cents-99cents depending on market, frequent $1 coffee promotions in the afternoon, etc. The other thing is the newer Circle Ks that are new construction and corporate operated are very nice; they are not as good as the A-Grade operators I mentioned above, but they are definitely a solid B-Grade and far better than a 7-Eleven. It will be interesting to see how they handle Corner Store. 7-Eleven has badly botched its small Corner Store acquisition in California.

[wnetmacman]

I had always heard good things about Stripes and its food service offering. 7-Eleven US will destroy anything good about Stripes, if they rebrand it (my only experience with Stripes was in Lawton, OK with some old former Circle Ks and I felt they were about on par with a US 7-Eleven: not very good). The problem with 7-Eleven is their franchise model in the US is one that does not lend itself to quality operations.

This is exactly what I'm afraid of. We just got Stripes here in the last few months, and it's leagues beyond the next best thing here.

Also 7-Eleven cannot purchase the Oklahoma Stripes due to the pre-existing situation they have in Oklahoma with the "other" 7-Eleven (ironically, the OKC 7-Elevens operated by that third party are actually quite good, much better than the regular US 7-Eleven).

This may be why they've bought the Stripes name.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the fuel. The problem with 7-Eleven is while I am sure they would like a fuel brand, numerous of their sites in current configuration do not meet minimum branding requirements for any of the major oil companies. Things like no public restroom, nonexistent cleanliness standards, combined with many sites that only have 2 gas pumps are things that the major oil companies simply have no incentive to brand.

Sunoco may be very willing to look beyond all that for the name recognition.

In my market, 7-Eleven has been hurt significantly by the expansion of Maverik. While 7-Eleven has 50+ stores in this market and Maverik only has 7 stores, it is surprising how much it has hurt them. They have removed fuel from some sites, some sites only offer unleaded and no longer offer all grades of fuel, and traffic is dismal in many of the sites. When you go to a market that has a strong Quik Trip, Wawa, or Sheetz presence, there are few to no 7-Elevens and the few that exist are typically in lousy neighborhoods and do not offer fuel. There are two classes of c-stores in the US: ones that have nice clean stores, 100% corporate operated networks, large format stores, and expanded food offerings (Quik Trip, Wawa, newer Maveriks, Sheetz, etc.) then there are the F-Grade c-stores like 7-Eleven that are dirty, limited food options, poor service, and not very safe feeling.

7-Eleven's Japan-based management needs to take a look at their stores in the US and what type of operation they have here with their franchise network and the poor standards. I think they would be very ashamed. Any monies they invest to expand in the US will be wasted because the better c-store operators can simply find a lot nearby or across the street, build one of their A-grade stores, and kill traffic at the nearby F-Grade 7-Eleven.

We haven't had 7-Eleven here (Louisiana, Texas outside Dallas) since the 80's. While some badly remodeled relics remain, it would be like a new entry here.

I have noticed Circle K seems to try to make trade offs for its not very good stores (though I find them a lot better than a 7-Eleven) by having some better prices; things like any size drink 79cents-99cents depending on market, frequent $1 coffee promotions in the afternoon, etc. The other thing is the newer Circle Ks that are new construction and corporate operated are very nice; they are not as good as the A-Grade operators I mentioned above, but they are definitely a solid B-Grade and far better than a 7-Eleven. It will be interesting to see how they handle Corner Store. 7-Eleven has badly botched its small Corner Store acquisition in California.

Circle K is trying to improve, though it seems like Couche-Tard is only interested in numbers. The drink prices you mention are attractive, but if I can get cheaper gas and foodservice offerings with it, I pass their stores every time. Corner Store isn't even acting like the change is coming. Based on the Corner Stores here, it won't be a big change, save for a few rebuilds where the CS stores are too small even for Circle K, and some overlap divestitures.

[jamcool]

Both Circle K and 7-11 seem to be in a race to have the largest store count in the US, yet the majority of their stores are mediocre at best...roller dogs of questionable date and shrink-wrapped sandwiches.
In AZ, Circle K's home state, QT has been building allover Phoenix and Tucson, with Maverik popping up allover Northern AZ,both taking a chunk out of CK's market share, while 7-11 is down to a handful of franchises in dicey neighborhoods.

[pseudo3d]

This mostly affects Texas and Louisiana, but yesterday, it was announced Sunoco would sell its Stripes gas station chain to 7-Eleven, which would convert them to their stores, selling 1000 stores to them and another 200 to others (presumably due to overlap, which does exist in Central and North Texas, not so much east of it).

Read carefully.
1. 7-Eleven is buying the stores, PLUS the Stripes and Laredo Taco brands.
2. Stripes doesn't operate outside Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. They operate about 700 stores. 1,100 under Stripes and Aplus are being sold.
3. 7-Eleven specifically does not mention conversion. When a company buys the name, it is usually the opposite.
4. The 200 remaining stores will be sold separately due to overlap. 7-Eleven still has an extensive network of stores in North and Central Texas.

The next generation stores they recently opened in Louisiana and Corpus Christi are nice. They prominently feature Laredo Taco and a good deal of other hot foods, plus a huge set of gas pump islands and a car wash where you get a 20 cent/gallon discount. I can't believe 7-Eleven would want to lose that, plus they get a fuel brand again, better than Citgo in the 80's.

Stripes is a hot, fast growing brand. I am not surprised by this.

A few things to say about that:
1. A number of Stripes opened up in my area in the past 2-3 years, plus they bought another local chain (Rattlers). Stripes actually entered the market with the purchase of a large gas station that was designed to be a Buc-ee's knockoff (12k square foot store, smaller than a Buc-ee's but way larger than a typical convenience store). I assume that it will likely be divested rather than becoming the largest 7-Eleven in the world.
2. The stores are not that great, though--when they bought Rattlers, the pump POS system became a lot slower, plus, I have had chronic problems getting a receipt from the stores, the closest one to me had problems from day one and afaik it wasn't fixed
3. Alimentation said that they would convert Corner Store to Circle K, despite the fact of several new and modern (nice) Corner Store Market stores.
4. 7-Eleven does have a fuel brand for some stores, the stores in Waco they opened are an example of this. Stripes operates under a few different operators, but the self-branded Stripes became Sunoco after the purchase. I assume these will remain as Sunoco.
5. 7-Eleven gets very rare east of the I-35 corridor. They (7-E) have a few stores in the Houston, most are in TETCO (Speedy Stop) stores that are 7-Eleven in all but name. Stripes will provide that in-fill. They'll probably only use the Stripes name in Oklahoma where they can't use 7-Eleven.

[storewanderer]

Some months ago I went to one of our local 2 gas pump 7-Elevens and found the bottom row of the pump keypad was vandalized/broken so you could not type in the 8, 9, or 0 keys. Most (all) Nevada zip codes start with 8 and most (all?) California zip codes start with 9 so this is a problem if you are going to have a zip code prompt on the gas pumps like 7-Eleven does as a blanket policy at all locations. Months ago, I went in and prepaid for my gas and was on my way.

I went back to the same station yesterday and went to that same pump and the keypad had still not been fixed. The pump was caked with dirt at the top and I heard grinding as I inserted my card into the pump (dirt in the reader?). I could not even type the "8" to get started on the zip code. I was the only car there. This is a low fraud part of town so the zip code prompt is probably not really needed here (the nearby Maverik, Shell, and 76 locations do not prompt for zip code either yet their locations in certain other parts of town that are higher fraud do). This time I decided to not bother and left and just went to the Maverik down the road, where there were 10-15 cars including those at the building and at the pumps, and where gas was .04 cheaper anyway, and pumped there at one of their 12 clean, fully functioning gas pumps.

This is the problem with 7-Eleven. Their franchise model is one that makes for the worst customer experience. The gas sales at the site are not controlled in any way by the franchisee, and get the store a small commission, so maintenance and upkeep of gas pumps lies squarely on 7-Eleven Corporation (not the franchisee of the store). Now the problem is due to 7-Eleven Corporation's lack of maintenance at its gas pump over months and months, I am not very interested in doing business at this site in the future, including going into the store to buy something. If they don't want to get someone out there to fix the pump, they need to remove the zip code prompt until they are ready to get it fixed, so pay at the pump works. Lower the authorization limit to $50 if they are worried about fraud or get someone out there to fix the pump so the pay at the pump functions.

[pseudo3d]

Some months ago I went to one of our local 2 gas pump 7-Elevens and found the bottom row of the pump keypad was vandalized/broken so you could not type in the 8, 9, or 0 keys. Most (all) Nevada zip codes start with 8 and most (all?) California zip codes start with 9 so this is a problem if you are going to have a zip code prompt on the gas pumps like 7-Eleven does as a blanket policy at all locations. Months ago, I went in and prepaid for my gas and was on my way.

I went back to the same station yesterday and went to that same pump and the keypad had still not been fixed. The pump was caked with dirt at the top and I heard grinding as I inserted my card into the pump (dirt in the reader?). I could not even type the "8" to get started on the zip code. I was the only car there. This is a low fraud part of town so the zip code prompt is probably not really needed here (the nearby Maverik, Shell, and 76 locations do not prompt for zip code either yet their locations in certain other parts of town that are higher fraud do). This time I decided to not bother and left and just went to the Maverik down the road, where there were 10-15 cars including those at the building and at the pumps, and where gas was .04 cheaper anyway, and pumped there at one of their 12 clean, fully functioning gas pumps.

This is the problem with 7-Eleven. Their franchise model is one that makes for the worst customer experience. The gas sales at the site are not controlled in any way by the franchisee, and get the store a small commission, so maintenance and upkeep of gas pumps lies squarely on 7-Eleven Corporation (not the franchisee of the store). Now the problem is due to 7-Eleven Corporation's lack of maintenance at its gas pump over months and months, I am not very interested in doing business at this site in the future, including going into the store to buy something. If they don't want to get someone out there to fix the pump, they need to remove the zip code prompt until they are ready to get it fixed, so pay at the pump works. Lower the authorization limit to $50 if they are worried about fraud or get someone out there to fix the pump so the pay at the pump functions.

I've never encountered a pay-at-the-pump without zip code key-ins. It might be Texas law, unless everywhere I go is high fraud.

[TW-Upstate NY]

At least where I live here in New York State, zip code key ins are the exception and not the rule. The only place I ever had to do that was Hess and now that they've become Speedway that practice has continued. And now that I think of it, interestingly enough I was in Ohio some years ago and purchased gas at a Speedway in Canton and was not asked for a zip code when using a credit card. Don't think I've ever been asked for one except for the example I've cited and that includes a lot of out of state driving over the years.