ATLANTA, 2016-Oct-26 — /EPR Retail News/ — The fast-paced “Ideas 2 Go” program showcases emerging concepts that redefine convenience—as well as quick takeaways that retailers could easily implement at their own stores. Since 1994, “Ideas 2 Go” has provided a fast-paced video tour of some of the most interesting, creative and potentially profitable ideas in the convenience and fuel retailing industry.
The 50-minute “Ideas 2 Go” video presentation was shown in today’s standing-room-only NACS Show general session. NACS member companies can order and download the 2016 NACS “Ideas 2 Go” program (SKU 30088023) for $30 ($60 regular price). Orders can be placed at www.nacsonline.com/ideas2go2016. The program only is available for purchase and viewing online; there will not be a DVD also available for purchase.
The nine featured segments are:
Fuel City
It’s a gas station and also an acclaimed taco shop that is so popular that police direct traffic at the store on weekends. And it’s also an offbeat karaoke spot, car wash and a general place of curiosity with a swimming pool and livestock like longhorns and donkeys. Owner John Benda says it’s “Where dreams come true”—and he’s probably right (Dallas, TX).
Throx Market Station (Throckmorton Enterprises Inc.)
The store has high-end food, a protein shake program and plenty of unique better-for-your items, but it is the community spirit that sets Throx apart. A second level allows customers to enjoy their food—or for community groups to hold regular meetings. This is one of three Throx stores: Throx Country Store and Throx Brew Market & Grille also focus on unique offers around fresh food and drinks (Winchester, VA).
U-Gas/Dirt Cheap (U-Gas Inc.)
U-Gas recognized early on that a fresh and healthy foodservice offering was not only a trend, but a long-term strategy. Its GiGi’s Café Express and commissary has allowed both U-Gas and the company’s other brand, Dirt Cheap, to execute its fresh and healthy foodservice program (Ballwin, MO).
High Country Market & GastroPub
Owner Zahir Walji is one of a few level two sommeliers in the region, and he sells 30 of the top 100 rated wines in the country. That explains why it’s not unusual for customers to get a fill-up and a $500 bottle of wine. But there is much more to this high-end gastropub, where even its own unique black truffle and rosemary ketchup is made from scratch. The store also was the only site outside of Austin to feature a SXSW concert in 2016 (Round Rock, TX).
Maxol/Applegreen
The best ideas aren’t limited by country borders. Some of the most innovative ideas in store design and foodservice execution are in Dublin, Ireland, where delegates from the NACS Insight Convenience Summit – Europe visited to learn to learn from the best and ‘touch/feel/taste’ new formats and offers. At both Maxol and Applegreen food is first—plus a focus on design and making the store a destination (Dublin, Ireland).
Slovacek’s
Kolaches, sausage rolls, and other tasty Czech delicacies are the features at this extraordinary market. The 17,700 square feet of unique architecture and quirky personality is the driving force drawing costumers in, but it’s Slovacek’s fresh baked goods, homemade meats and cheeses, gourmet sandwiches and unique merchandise that keeps customers coming back (West, TX).
Metro Market (Sprint Food Stores Inc.)
Metro Market is a unique urban convenience store and restaurant, both in its design and offer in downtown Augusta. It embraces the historical aspects of an old building with a modern offer, with the design and concept of being a place to hang out, study or host social and business events (Augusta, GA).
Mendez Fuel (Mendez Fuel Holdings LLC)
The colorful exterior of the carwash is the first clue that Mendez Fuel is not a typical Mobil station. Inside the store, it’s all about freshness. The deli offers unique sandwiches prepared with local and sustainable ingredients. And the beverages are even more impressive. The company has a cold-pressed juices program for incredibly fresh smoothies and juices. And it also offers a variety of craft beers on tap as part of its growler program, including a new program with canned growlers (Miami, FL).
Kum & Go
The company’s new marketplace design prototype has a variety of unique offerings for customers, especially around fresh, with the goal to create the store of the future for associates and for customers. The goal is to embrace the ampersand in its name, promising to deliver “and more” to customers throughout the store (Johnson, IA).
In addition to the nine Ideas 2 Go segments, four short “Ideas 2 Grow” segments examine unique innovations in retail, including Wallingford Chevron (Seattle, WA), Mission Market (Fullerton, CA), Little Waitrose (West London, UK) and Marine Corps Exchange (Quantico, VA).
Ideas 2 Go video segments from previous years (2002 to 2015) can be viewed at www.nacsonline.com/ideas2go.
The NACS Show is the premier event of the year for the convenience and fuel retailing industry. More than 20,000 attendees from 60-plus countries are at the 2016 NACS Show in Atlanta, which features four days of general sessions, more than 60 education sessions and more than 1,200 exhibiting companies in a nearly 410,000 net-square-foot expo. For the most up-to-date news and information on the event, go to nacsshow.com.
Founded in 1961 as the National Association of Convenience Stores, NACS (nacsonline.com) is the international association for convenience and fuel retailing. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 154,000 stores across the country, conducts 160 million transactions a day, sells 80% of the fuel purchased in the country and had total sales of $575 billion in 2015. NACS has 2,100 retail and 1,700 supplier member companies, which do business in nearly 50 countries.
Source: NACS