Convenience Matters

If there is one thing Americans can unite on, it's complaining about gasoline prices. NACS resources can help educate consumers about the industry and correct misperceptions. Hosted by: Chrissy Blasinsky and Jeff Lenard

What are your stores famous for? For HOP Shops, it's their disco bathrooms. The concept is so popular that a couple recently got married in one. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard   About our Guests: Ann Gilbert, Human Resources Manager & HOP Shops' Marketing Manager at Valor Oil As marketing manager for Valor Oil, Ann is responsible for the development and supervision of all marketing and communications stra...

There are upwards of 200 billion coupons issued in the United States every year, mostly paper. Digital coupons, called 8112s, are reshaping the coupon landscape. How can convenience retailers jump on the emerging opportunities? Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Sam Jonas, CEO & Co-Founder, nData Services Sam is a 25-year entrepreneur with a focus in the payments industry. Today he is focused...

With increased costs and prices over the past few years, it's important for convenience retailers to communicate their offer and deliver value. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Leroy Kelsey, NACS Director, Research As director of NACS Research, Leroy is responsible for disseminating key industry metrics that empower convenience retailer and supplier members with the ab...

Pick a big moment in the convenience store industry's history and John Roscoe was there. He popularized many of the huge advances we see today in our industry and shares what he thinks is the path forward. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: John Roscoe, Convenience Industry Icon John Roscoe was named one of the 50 most influential people in the convenience store industry by Convenience Store...

The Big Game is the most watched event of the year and is a great forum for brands to showcase their latest offers. It's also a great forum to elevate important societal issues, like the fight against human trafficking. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Cheryl Csiky, Executive Director, IN OUR BACKYARD Cheryl is the executive director of IN OUR BACKYARD, a national anti-trafficking nonprofit...

The modern nicotine user is much different than a few years ago. With more options available, hear how consumer behaviors and expectations have changed. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Melissa Vonder Haar, Writer/Consultant, MelissaV Inc. Melissa has written about the convenience retailing industry for nearly two decades and has written numerous feature articles for NACS Magazine. In addit...

The early forecasts of the convenience retailing industry's 2023 performance are positive. Which trends stood out and what do preliminary numbers tell us about where the industry is heading in 2024? Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Chris Rapanick, Managing Director, NACS Research Chris oversees the day-to-day operations of NACS Research, manages and directs departmenta...

Electric vehicles may be the future, but that doesn't mean they don't have challenges today. Hear how Plaid Pantry is redefining EV charging at convenience stores. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Jonathan Polonsky, CEO, Plaid Pantry As the CEO of Plaid Pantry, a chain of convenience stores in the Pacific Northwest, Jonathan leads a team of over 700 employees across 106 locations, serving m...

Over the past year, we visited more than 100 convenience stores. We'll share what we saw at c-stores and what it might mean to your business in 2024. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky

Our top-downloaded episode of 2023: Store managers have a significant impact on hiring and retaining great people. Hear how one retailer is coaching her team so they can be at their best. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Annie Gauthier, CFO & Co-CEO, St. Romain Oil Company (dba Y-Not Stop) Annie is CFO/Co-CEO of St. Romain Oil Company (dba Y-Not Stop), based in Mansura...

What's fact or fiction related to how quickly electric vehicles will grow sales? How today's market evolves is dependent upon economics and politics, and both are highly unpredictable. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: John Eichberger, Executive Director, Transportation Energy Institute John has more than 20 years of experience in the fuels industry, including more than a decade leading the...

Wages and benefits are the largest expense to your business, but can also have the greatest ROI. Competitive hiring practices can help you get and keep great people who advance your business from the front line. Find out if your offer is competitive and learn about the data and resources NACS has to help. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Jayme Gough, Market Research Ma...

Convenience stores are in the relationships business. Over the past two decades, Michael Davis has played a central role in connecting retailers. Listen as he shares ideas on how to connect with industry peers. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Michael Davis, NACS Vice President of Member Services Michael has spent the past 18 years at NACS and even longer in the indust...

NACS Show panelists share ideas on how organizations can develop processes to come up with great ideas—and execute them—over and over. Hosted by: Gray Taylor, Executive Director, Conexxus About our Guests: Emily Sheetz, VP, Innovation and IT, Sheetz Inc. Emily is responsible for the development of and execution of company strategy as well as innovation, which includes the newly formed Sheetz Incub...

Convenience retailers share how the The Good Jobs Strategy is helping their companies increase employee productivity, contribution and motivation. Hosted by: Henry Armour, President & CEO, NACS About our Guests: Zeynep Ton, Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, President, The Good Jobs Institute Zeynep's research focuses on how organizations can design and manage their operations in a way tha...

Being a local brand in rural America is a huge differentiator for consumers. By showing your commitment to the local community, you ultimately build trust—and that leads to sales. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Akhtar Hussain, Director of Refined Fuels Marketing at CHS Inc. Akhtar is responsible for brand marketing, retail development and imaging, and equipment for the Cenex brand, which...

Three acclaimed road warriors share their stories from the road and their ideas on how your stores can be "discovered" by more people travelling on highways -- or even in your neighborhood. Hosted by: Don Rhoads, President/CEO, The Convenience Group LLC and 2022-23 NACS Chairman About our Guests: Stephanie Stuckey, Chair, Stuckey's Corp. Four years ago, Stephanie purchased Stuckey's Corp., the com...

In the current labor climate, many companies are trying to hire quickly. Family Express, however, is finding that spending more time during the hiring process, from application to job offer, is working out much better. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Alex Olympidis, President of Operations, Family Express Corp. Alex is the president of operations for the 80-plus store Family Express Corp.,...

The rise of electric vehicles in Norway could force convenience retailers around the world to reconceive the traditional fill up and rethink their business models. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Magnar Møkkelgård, NACS Relationship Partner Nordics Magnar Møkkelgård is currently the relationship partner for NACS in the Nordics. He enjoys receiving visitors from other...

Many consumers say they are "all in" on certain climate change policies, but their views soften once they learn how these changes would affect them. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Rich Carrione, Vice President of Operations, Warm Thoughts Communications Rich Carrione is vice president of operations for Warm Thoughts Communications, a marketing agency specializing in the residential energy...

Convenience retailers can create affordable marketing campaigns with college athletes. These campaigns can help drive traffic and fun to your stores. Here's what you need to know to get started. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Shannon Carroll, Contributing Writer, NACS Magazine Shannon is an award-winning journalist with a reputation for finding and telling great stories. She has interview...

William Shatner sat down to talk about what's on his mind—and it's a lot—following his NACS Show appearance in 2018. It's one of our most popular episodes and definitely our longest. And worth another listen. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP of Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Henry Armour, President and CEO, NACS About our Guest: William Shatner Captain Kirk, T.J. Hooker, Denny Crane, so many T...

How does a local convenience retailer with a few stores get millions of views on YouTube? We'll take you through the process and talk about how you can adapt his ideas. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Babir Sultan, CEO, FavTrip Babir is the CEO of FavTrip, with has locations around Kansas City. He also has built a highly successful online presence with two video serie...

NACS veterans share an insider's look at what attendees can look forward to at the NACS Show, how they can prepare and how they can make the most of what they saw, learned and heard at the global c-store industry's premier event. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Jeff McQuilkin, Director, Exhibit Sales and Services, NACS A trade show expert and veteran, Jeff has been wi...