Convenience Stores

Irving Oil is cutting its workforce by 250 people or about 6% in light of the current economic conditions.

Changing consumer behaviour is affording c-stores a unique opportunity to help customers mark special moments, from family moving nights to Halloween, but it starts with the right product mix.

With many having more time, this renewed focus on social engagement together has prompted a host of new behaviours.

Uber Technologies Inc.

As the country gets back to business (and school), Jeff Dover, president of fsSTRATEGY, shares 8 best practices for welcoming back hungry customersFoodservice is an increasingly important segment in convenience stores.  The impact of COVID-19 restrictions surrounding foodservice has been devastating for many foodservice operators.  As convenience store foodservice is almost exclusively eaten off-site, the impact on stores allowed to remain open has been relatively minimal.  However, foodservice at convenience stores must change to ensure continued success.  Customer comfortMost consumers are eager to return to their normal lifestyles as lockdown restrictions are eased and eating food away from home is no exception.  The key to success will be having sanitation and safety practices for guests and employees visibly in place for those less comfortable with convenience store foodservice.  Word of mouth of such practices will result in more people comfortable with using your foodservice offerings.  Being known as “doing things right post-COVID-19” will help.  2. MasksStaff preparing and serving food should wear masks.

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.

Ottawa's new rules restricting the promotion of vaping products in places young people can access are set to come into effect next month.Health Canada published regulations July 8 prohibiting vaping advertisements in public spaces where youth may be exposed to them.The ban applies to all retail locations and online stores that sell e-cigarettes, except for adult-only establishments.The measures are set to take effect on Aug.

C-stores not in compliance run the risk of being chargedIt's fair to say the messaging around Ontario's new vaping regulations is confusing for operators and other industry stakeholders.