This article was posted on the Convenience Store News website in the Daily News! www.csnews.com
Clark's Pump-N-Shop Expands, Invests
By Mehgan Belanger
August 06, 2009 - ASHLAND, Ky. -- Clark's Pump-N-Shop, the convenience store division of John Clark Oil Co., grew its base this month when it opened two new locations near its hometown in Ashland, following another opening of a store in the same area in April 2009.
The chain's three new convenience stores—Ironville Panther Mart, Burnaugh BP and Shopes Creek Marathon—bring the chain's store count to 66 across Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. All locations were acquired from local single-store operators, thanks to the downturn in the economy, Brandy Clark, spokeswoman for the convenience retailer, told CSNews Online.
"We would not have acquired these three locations if it weren’t for the downturn of the economy," she said.
The three new locations all feature a deli, and fuel brand varies by location. Ironville Panther Mart offers unbranded fuel, while the Burnaugh location sells BP-branded gas and the Shopes Creek store offers Marathon fuel, Clark said, noting the company also offers Chevron fuel at some of its locations.
The first new store underwent a three-week remodel earlier this year to the Clark's Pump-N-Shop image, while the two other locations will be remodeled and restocked by the end of September, Clark said, noting there will not be official grand opening celebrations, but the "positive changes that take place in each location will let our customers know their store is getting better."
While there are no plans to grow further this year, Clark's Pump-N-Shop will make improvements to its current locations over the next 12 months, including the addition of new and improved beer caves, delis and equipment, Clark told CSNews Online.
Clark's Pump-N-Shop is also in the process of becoming PCI compliant by upgrading its Verifone Ruby registers to Sapphire registers, and implemented the latest back office software in every convenience store that is capable of scanning.
"We strive to have the best locations so our customers will continue to do business with us," she added. "We pride ourselves on clean, well lit, well stocked locations, with great customer service."
GRAPEVINE, Texas – Technology is helping retailers take on the four most common areas of shrink — employee theft, shoplifting, vendor theft and paperwork errors — through point-of-sale (POS) software solutions and scan data. These systems also help retailers control costs and track trends, all of which were explored during a NACStech workshop on Monday that featured:
The benefits of implementing a POS solution, according to Flynn, are that it helps control theft. For example, fuel integration and alerts keep staff aware of pump activity, detailed POS event logging allows for a more granular analysis of cashier activity, scanning eliminates pricing errors, and the company’s one cashier per till policy ensures each employee is accountable for his/her tray.
For identifying and controlling employee theft, WILCOHESS uses a “trend book” feature that captures key register information generated by the cashier during his/her shift. Over a period of time, store managers can follow the performance of cashiers and identify trends in key categories that may indicate a training deficiency or employee theft.
Flynn noted that the success of capturing this information for analyzing performance and trends is ensuring accuracy and consistency, as inaccurate figures will skew any shift or register analysis and hide a dishonest employee, or may lead a manager to fire an innocent employee.
At Flash Foods, implementing at POS solution has helped the retailer dramatically reduce gasoline theft (“drive-offs”). The company has reduced gasoline theft by 78 percent since 2006, a savings of almost $575,000 in just two years. The software allows Flash Foods to see a detailed report of each pump, the times of day theft occurred and how many times, including which sales associate was on duty at the time of theft. These patterns that emerge from the data allow Flash Foods to see a trend and be proactive at reducing theft rather than reactive.
Flash Foods’ “Rewards in a Flash” loyalty program also combats gasoline theft by allowing customers to fuel up and then pay, including those who pay in cash. If a customer drives off, whether intentionally or not, Flash Foods has that customer’s information through the loyalty card.
Article from Nacsonline.com
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