STARZ Buying Club Reaches 2000

HOUSTON, Texas -- Shell Oil Products U.S said its STARZ Buying Club has exceeded a membership level of 2,000 participating locations.

The club is a complete convenience merchandising program operated by Royal Buying Group Inc. and designed to help Shell branded wholesalers and retailers realize additional savings and financial opportunities through vendor marketing programs, rebate administration and vendor promotion management.

"STARZ is a comprehensive Web site that gives our branded operators access to daily industry news, Shell news and program updates, a training and learning section, a vendor index that includes many proprietary Shell programs, and much more," said Jerry Peffer, STARZ category manager for Shell Oil Products U.S. "Retailers continue to visit the STARZ Web site more often and for longer periods of time each month. And, the STARZ Buying Club is just one tool that helps our retailers and wholesalers maximize vendor related merchandising programs, promotions and special opportunities, while providing administrative support at a lower cost than even some of our retailers and wholesalers can do themselves."

Southside Shell, a dealer in Fort Atkinson, Wis., is the STARZ Buying Club's 2,000th location. Scott Spoerl, operator of Southside Shell said, "After hearing a presentation about the STARZ Buying Club, I realized the program is a no-brainer. I liked that I didn't have to change my purchasing process, didn't need to pay any out-of-pocket expense to participate, and most importantly, believe it will bring more profit to my bottom line.

"The time required to meet with vendors, track my purchases and collect my rebates just did not make financial sense for me to continue performing. I'm looking forward to having a resource to get merchandise and services programs I typically wouldn't have access to."

The STARZ Buying Club is one of the components available through the STARZ (Shell Trading and Retail Zone) Web site, a proprietary Web-portal that provides Shell branded retailers and wholesalers with site operations and convenience retailing tools and information.

"We continue to experience growth in Shell branded location store counts and in the level of program participation by the STARZ Buying Club members," stated Michael Zielinski, president and chief executive officer of Royal Buying Group Inc. "The Shell-branded sites are located on some of the best real estate in the country, which is just what major branded products need to create demand from today's consumer.

The STARZ Buying Club was launched in December of 2003. Shell Oil Products U.S., a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, with a network of approximately 6,000 branded gasoline stations in the Western United States.
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