Canada's Circle K ranks among largest franchisors in the U.S.
Three convenience chains, including Quebec-based retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard's Circle K brand, are among the 200 largest U.S.-based franchisors.
The Franchise Times Top 200+ placed 7-Eleven Inc., Circle K and ampm in the exclusive ranking of the 500 largest franchises.
Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven landed at No. 2, Circle K landed at No. 14; and La Palma, Calif.-based ampm, a division of BP, took the No. 83 spot.
As the report noted, 7-Eleven reached $86 billion in sales. The retailer has 8,951 U.S. locations (7,213 U.S. franchised units) and ranked No. 2 last year.
Circle K rang up $10.2 billion in sales. It has 5,908 U.S. locations (562 U.S. franchised units) and ranked No. 18 last year. For its part, ampm hit $1.38 billion in sales. It has 1,015 U.S. locations (962 U.S. franchised units) and moved up from No. 85 last year.
Circle K also took the No. 3 spot on the Franchise Times Top 10 Fastest Growers by Sales (26%) and the No. 8 spot on the Franchise Times Top 10 Fastest Growers by Units (13.7%).
According to the report, the 200 largest U.S.-based franchisors grew their combined annual sales by more than $26.9 billion, or 4.2% last year, to $671.3 billion, with most categories seeing across-the-board gains well above the previous year.