Posts by theo.foukkare@bigpond.com

Players like 7-Eleven, Circle K, Arko and GetGo are refreshing their offerings with new machines, flavors and specialty options. C-stores are pouring money into upgrading their coffee offerings as consumers come to expect more premium drinks. Retailers from 7-Eleven to GetGo Cafe + Market to Arko’s array of brands have been updating their java programs in recent months. “Coffee customers are more discerning than ever, which applies to all segments of the industry, a shift being driven by millennial and Gen Z consumers,” Tim Cox, marketing manager for Franke Coffee Systems Americas, said in an interview. This trend goes all the way to the top of the c-store world. 7-Eleven revealed in its most recent earnings call that it’s updated the coffee program at nearly 5,000 of its 13,000 North American locations, with more to come. The modernization includes bean-to-cup coffee and an increased focus on specialty and iced options, along with more…

With inflation soaring and the cost-of-living crisis still raging, UK shoppers continue to seek out as much value as they can from their local shops and supermarkets. However, convenience store shoppers were getting a raw deal. Earlier this year, Which? found that those who shop at c-stores rather than bigger supermarkets were likely to pay more than £800 extra over the course of a year, as the consumer champion also found that supermarket-branded convenience stores were not offering budget grocery lines. This month Tesco announced a major overhaul to the range of products it stocks in Express stores that would see it replace 50 everyday items with cheaper alternatives. Many of the replacements come from the grocery giant’s own-brand range, with some items less than a third of the price of the original products. This was met with a positive response and reinforced its position as the UK’s best value convenience store chain. Tesco said the move came…

A tobacco store in Hadfi eld has been torched in a suspected arson attack just 24 hours after a nearby greengrocer went up in flames. Detectives from the Arson and Explosives squad arrived to the West St Convenience Store on Wednesday morning to find the store damaged by fire. It’s believed West Street Convenience Store is owned by the same people who own Hadfield Finest Fruit and Veg, which was targeted by fire a day before. Emergency crews were called to the unoccupied shop just after 5am. No one was injured in the blaze.Police say the inside of the shop suffered extensive damage. The roller door also appeared to have been smashed open. An employee at another greengrocer near the tobacco shop said he heard “three loud bangs” before rushing to the corner store to check it out. “I was putting the capsicums out the front and I heard three…

Crime and Corruption Commission officers have raided two bayside tobacco shops as part of a series of raids across the southeast seizing millions of dollars in tobacco and vape products. Dozens of tobacco and vape outlets along with residences and storage sheds were raided across Redland, Brisbane and Ipswich. CCC officers have raided tobacco shops in the Redlands. Crime and Corruption Commission officers were at Tobacconist King at Cleveland and Golden Tobacco Market at Capalaba, where boxes of product were confiscated. The CCC conducted the operation on Wednesday as part of an ongoing major crime investigation, which has been under way for more than two months. Golden Tobacco Market at Capalaba was one of the premises raided. A spokesman said it was not appropriate to provide further comment or details. The raids followed Queensland Health and the Australian Border Force’s Illicit Tobacco Taskforce seizing more than $2 million of illegal…

Pay or burn. It’s become an open secret among Victoria’s tobacco shops that you have to pay the “tax”.There is no mistaking the threat, not when at least a dozen tobacco shops have already been turned to cinders. “If you want to open a smoke shop in Melbourne, you have to pay them. You can’t open in their area. They’ve made a kind of cartel,” said an underworld source, who spoke to The Age on condition of anonymity. “People are told – these are the rules. You pay $1000 a week in cash. You sell our cigarettes. You don’t follow the rules, your shop will be burned the next day. You keep going, you get shot. It’s like the old protection money thing.” The extortion of small tobacco shops, which can be found in virtually every suburban shopping strip, has become a cash cow for criminal syndicates, who are using…

The discount grocer is gaining hundreds of stores in prime locations. But integrating those traditional supermarkets into its operations will be tricky. Like many people around the grocery industry, I was very surprised to see Wednesday’s announcement that Aldi plans to acquire the Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket chains from Southeastern Grocers. Although the discount grocer has been on a growth tear over the past several years, and a large, transformative acquisition certainly makes sense to further its conquest, snapping up two conventional grocery chains whose stores are very different from Aldi’s didn’t seem like a move that company would make. From a growth perspective, this is a major step forward for Aldi in an area of the country where it has already built a considerable presence, including hundreds of stores and a brand new distribution center. “These are great locations Aldi is getting,” according to one industry source I spoke to Wednesday…