Business model helps Couche-Tard navigate COVID-19
LAVAL, Quebec — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., parent company of Circle K, reported a relatively strong fourth quarter for its 2020 fiscal year despite grappling with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic."Our agile, decentralized model, as well as the advancements we made in operational excellence this past year, helped us to face the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 and I'm proud to say, I think we've emerged from this historic year a better and stronger company, both financially and culturally," president and CEO Brian Hannasch stated during the company's Q4 earnings call on June 30."We ended the fourth quarter with strong top-line trends, including 12 weeks of positive traffic, before we endured a significant decline in traffic and fuel volumes with the pandemic stay-at-home orders implemented across our global footprint," he added.Looking at the fourth-quarter numbers, same-store merchandise revenue decreased by 0.5 percent in the United States and 6.5 percent in Europe, while increasing 4.7 percent in Canada compared to the same quarter last year.From a fuels perspective, volumes declined sharply during the first weeks following the stay-at-home orders.
