EG Group

[storewanderer]

This EG Group... They bought good assets, leveraged themselves to the hilt in the process acting like the sky was the limit and were buying nonstop all over the world, and now they seem to be in a state of shedding anything that they can.

EG Group continues to break up itself. This reminds me of Albertsons in 2006 but Albertsons was way way better assets than this and didn't have such a nasty debt structure.

In the US they just exited Loaf N Jug from MT/ND. They have been doing weird random territory exits on an ongoing basis. They have completely ruined the good Kroger c-store business through the sale-leasebacks and lousy operations that have killed traffic.

They also did sale-leaseback of most/all of the US real estate.

One of the two original owners has taken separate control of the UK fuel station business (basically the original business).

The Asda business is now owned by TD Capital. Asda got loaded with debt so bad when this EG Group got involved with it, I have no clue what will happen. Wal Mart still has 10% of that business. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uks-a ... 12628.html

The remaining cluster of stuff EG Group owns all over the place remains but with how they keep selling random pieces in the US who knows what they will do going forward. Who knows, maybe they'll make more random acquisitions and do more sale-leasebacks and take on even more debt.

[bryceleinan]

This EG Group... They bought good assets, leveraged themselves to the hilt in the process acting like the sky was the limit and were buying nonstop all over the world, and now they seem to be in a state of shedding anything that they can.

EG Group continues to break up itself. This reminds me of Albertsons in 2006 but Albertsons was way way better assets than this and didn't have such a nasty debt structure.

In the US they just exited Loaf N Jug from MT/ND. They have been doing weird random territory exits on an ongoing basis. They have completely ruined the good Kroger c-store business through the sale-leasebacks and lousy operations that have killed traffic.

They also did sale-leaseback of most/all of the US real estate.

One of the two original owners has taken separate control of the UK fuel station business (basically the original business).

The Asda business is now owned by TD Capital. Asda got loaded with debt so bad when this EG Group got involved with it, I have no clue what will happen. Wal Mart still has 10% of that business. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uks-a ... 12628.html

The remaining cluster of stuff EG Group owns all over the place remains but with how they keep selling random pieces in the US who knows what they will do going forward. Who knows, maybe they'll make more random acquisitions and do more sale-leasebacks and take on even more debt.

I think I have been to a Quik Stop two, maybe three times after the EG buyout of the Kroger locations. I wish someone like Quik Trip, Circle K, or even Maverik would buy the stores - it was pretty terrible execution the last time I was in the Carson location.

[storewanderer]

I think I have been to a Quik Stop two, maybe three times after the EG buyout of the Kroger locations. I wish someone like Quik Trip, Circle K, or even Maverik would buy the stores - it was pretty terrible execution the last time I was in the Carson location.

When Cumberland Farms took over corporate operations and re-did the coffee program/equipment and put in the new machines for the HyperFreeze there was a bright spot and it seemed to sort of re-energize the stores. Also the addition of their snack food private label line was strong. They were running a number of good promotions.

Since then they have issues keeping the equipment in working order, have almost doubled some of the prices, some store locations (looking at you- Rock Blvd. in Reno) have discontinued many of the snacks including almost all of the chips, and the stores are in a worse and more dead state than I've ever seen them.

An example of their complete lack of caring about anything. For years now their gas pump pay at the pump has the "code" based message printed on it. You walk up to the pump and it says LOYALTYMOP. It is somewhat of a mystery what to do but if you insert your card it processes the card, if you want to use Kroger loyalty you need to press "yes" then enter your phone number. After this the screen will say PREPAYICRMESSAGE at which time you should insert your payment card. Many of their locations have been "offline" from Kroger loyalty for months/years but they still give .03 off even if they are offline.

[BillyGr]

When Cumberland Farms took over corporate operations and re-did the coffee program/equipment and put in the new machines for the HyperFreeze there was a bright spot and it seemed to sort of re-energize the stores. Also the addition of their snack food private label line was strong. They were running a number of good promotions.

Since then they have issues keeping the equipment in working order, have almost doubled some of the prices, some store locations (looking at you- Rock Blvd. in Reno) have discontinued many of the snacks including almost all of the chips, and the stores are in a worse and more dead state than I've ever seen them.

That pricing has happened with the actual Cumberland Farms stores as well.

They went from the long time $0.99 any size to $1.29 any size to now each size priced separately (with the small being $1.29 and the large $1.69, plus adding an XL for something like $2.29). Not quite doubled, but close to it for the large size.

All of those are pre-tax prices, since that varies by state/area.

[storewanderer]

I think at EG Quik Stop the small hot or cold drink including HyperFreeze slipped up to 1.49 (it was 1.29 for a brief moment). At this they are still a little competitive on the coffee at 12oz for 1.49 and also still a little competitive on the HyperFreeze but not competitive at all on soda. With all of the other major c-store chains doing promotions like 7-11/Speedway doing 0.89-$1 Big Gulp or Small Slurpee, Circle K doing 79 cent any side Froster/Soda/Tea nationwide, Maverik doing 89 cent 30oz Soda/Tea, and regional operators like the AMPMs and Extra Mile operators all doing various 0.69-0.99 dispensed cold drink offers this EG is really out there on price.

They also doubled the price for cup of ice, was .25 now .50. The .50 is in line with Maverik and in line with the major truck stop chains for a cup of ice so I understand their pricing decision.

[BillyGr]

I think at EG Quik Stop the small hot or cold drink including HyperFreeze slipped up to 1.49 (it was 1.29 for a brief moment). At this they are still a little competitive on the coffee at 12oz for 1.49 and also still a little competitive on the HyperFreeze but not competitive at all on soda. With all of the other major c-store chains doing promotions like 7-11/Speedway doing 0.89-$1 Big Gulp or Small Slurpee, Circle K doing 79 cent any side Froster/Soda/Tea nationwide, Maverik doing 89 cent 30oz Soda/Tea, and regional operators like the AMPMs and Extra Mile operators all doing various 0.69-0.99 dispensed cold drink offers this EG is really out there on price.

They also doubled the price for cup of ice, was .25 now .50. The .50 is in line with Maverik and in line with the major truck stop chains for a cup of ice so I understand their pricing decision.

Yes, they did that 25-50 for the ice here as well.

I guess here it doesn't seem as bad, since the Speedway stores may still have the $1 Slurpee (but it's probably even smaller than the Cumberland small), and the sodas are definitely not much less (maybe $1.49 vs. $1.69 for a similar size) - coffee is similar in prices as well.

Plus, while they overlap, many places the two are not right near each other so it may be less of a likelihood to go to one vs. the other if one is closer.

Additionally, the other big chain locally in NY (Stewart's) doesn't do soda most places, or frozen drinks, just iced coffee and hot coffee (sodas are bottles). The coffee is around $2 for the same size as Cumberland's $1.69, $1.45 vs. Cumberland's $1.29 and probably just about the same for the larger (Cumberland's new XL), while their iced coffee is higher (more like $2.xx for a smaller one and $3.xx for something maybe a bit more than Cumberland's large).

[storewanderer]

Yes, they did that 25-50 for the ice here as well.

I guess here it doesn't seem as bad, since the Speedway stores may still have the $1 Slurpee (but it's probably even smaller than the Cumberland small), and the sodas are definitely not much less (maybe $1.49 vs. $1.69 for a similar size) - coffee is similar in prices as well.

Plus, while they overlap, many places the two are not right near each other so it may be less of a likelihood to go to one vs. the other if one is closer.

Additionally, the other big chain locally in NY (Stewart's) doesn't do soda most places, or frozen drinks, just iced coffee and hot coffee (sodas are bottles). The coffee is around $2 for the same size as Cumberland's $1.69, $1.45 vs. Cumberland's $1.29 and probably just about the same for the larger (Cumberland's new XL), while their iced coffee is higher (more like $2.xx for a smaller one and $3.xx for something maybe a bit more than Cumberland's large).

The iced coffee at some of these chains is a pre-mix already including milk/sweetener like the ones in cartons at grocery stores which seems to have a higher cost.

With Cumberland Farms high volume coffee program they put all that equipment in to brew straight (unsweetened) iced coffee then if the customer wants cream/sweetener/unsweetened flavorings even, they can go and handle that on their own. So I think their cost on this stuff is quite a bit lower due to how they have it set up. So they can sell iced coffee at a lower price. I do think very highly of their coffee program and coffee; it is definitely the best I've seen.

Maverik on their "single cup grind the beans" dispensers has an option for iced coffee that fills the cup part way with unsweetened fresh brewed coffee, not quite sure if it is super concentrated or what. The directive is to fill the clear cup full of ice then go to the coffee machine. They have unsweetened flavorings in big bottles and I don't seem to know how to portion them correctly (vs. the Cumberland Farms machine that has a button to press for your size and portions it out). Maverik's coffee is pretty bad and I get it when they push promotions out and usually only a few times. The iced coffee price is well above $2 and a lot higher than the regular coffee. They have the same price as when they used the refrigerated pre mix which in my opinion is inappropriate and it should be the same price as the hot coffee now.

I remember going into a Stewart's and they had an old 6 flavor soda machine for fountain drinks. Clearly not a focus. Of course no iced tea from dispensed equipment.

[BillyGr]

The iced coffee at some of these chains is a pre-mix already including milk/sweetener like the ones in cartons at grocery stores which seems to have a higher cost.

With Cumberland Farms high volume coffee program they put all that equipment in to brew straight (unsweetened) iced coffee then if the customer wants cream/sweetener/unsweetened flavorings even, they can go and handle that on their own. So I think their cost on this stuff is quite a bit lower due to how they have it set up. So they can sell iced coffee at a lower price. I do think very highly of their coffee program and coffee; it is definitely the best I've seen.

Maverik on their "single cup grind the beans" dispensers has an option for iced coffee that fills the cup part way with unsweetened fresh brewed coffee, not quite sure if it is super concentrated or what. The directive is to fill the clear cup full of ice then go to the coffee machine. They have unsweetened flavorings in big bottles and I don't seem to know how to portion them correctly (vs. the Cumberland Farms machine that has a button to press for your size and portions it out). Maverik's coffee is pretty bad and I get it when they push promotions out and usually only a few times. The iced coffee price is well above $2 and a lot higher than the regular coffee. They have the same price as when they used the refrigerated pre mix which in my opinion is inappropriate and it should be the same price as the hot coffee now.

I remember going into a Stewart's and they had an old 6 flavor soda machine for fountain drinks. Clearly not a focus. Of course no iced tea from dispensed equipment.

The Speedway stores have that same setup for grinding coffee as you make it, and also allow you to make it for hot or iced (and there are separate buttons, so it seems possible that the iced one is using more coffee to make it stronger since it will dilute with the ice).

Stewart's is a question - they do use some type of container to make iced coffee behind the counter at many stores (and they have it in bottles in the coolers as well), but some of the newer shops have containers out for you to make it yourself that are the same large metal containers that you'd find at a Cumberland store. Not sure if that is still the same stuff or if they actually brew into those behind the counter then bring them out, as they do with the hot coffee pots/urns.

However, in either case it's not mixed in advance, just the coffee that you or they add creamer/sweetening etc. to.

Since they have their own branded coffee (that you can buy in bags/cups, along with getting it ready to drink), it may be something they produce at their plant (as they do things like ice cream, milk and such).

[storewanderer]

This makes sense, I never realized they may mix and even bottle coffee in store at Stewart's. That would be a good way to reduce waste if there is enough demand to buy the bottled stuff soon enough.

Speedway put the single serve machines in CA too and some newer 7-Eleven units have them (and ... some don't).

[BillyGr]

This makes sense, I never realized they may mix and even bottle coffee in store at Stewart's. That would be a good way to reduce waste if there is enough demand to buy the bottled stuff soon enough.

Speedway put the single serve machines in CA too and some newer 7-Eleven units have them (and ... some don't).

I don't think they would have a way to do it in store, rather at their main facilities in the Saratoga area (where Stewart's is headquartered, since they also bottle items like iced tea and juices for their labels, along with all the dairy items).

I suppose they could (possibly) keep some leftover hot coffee to make iced coffee by the cup (as people would do at home) but not even sure they would do that.