Susser Holdings Rebrands Its Circle K Stores

MCCALLEN, Texas -- Nearly six dozen Circle K convenience stores are being outfitted with a new name, The Monitor reported.

"Very simply, we are re-branding from Circle K to Stripes," said Otis Peaks, a spokesman for Corpus Christi-based Susser Holdings, Texas' largest convenience store operator, with 320 Circle K stores in Texas and Oklahoma -- including the 71 locations in the Upper Valley.

The transition to the new brand should be complete by year's end, when Susser's franchise agreement with Circle K convenience stores expires, the report stated.

Peaks said he couldn't offer any more information behind Susser's decision to end its relationship with Circle K, the third largest convenience store franchise in the nation, due to federal rules that prohibit promoting a new brand during the process of an initial public offering.

The new Stripes brand is Susser's own creation. The company raised $107 million in an initial public offering this week.

The latest developments come just months after Susser announced it would stop selling Citgo fuel at its stores and instead offer the Valero product, according to the report.

Over the past several weeks, thousands of its marketing dollars have been used to promote the new Stripes brand, including rolling out a new logo, signs, cups and other packaging. Additionally, billboards across the Valley have advertised the change with a banner reading "Stripes are in (Circles are out)," a campaign aimed at subtly transitioning customers, reported The Monitor.

The first fully branded Stripes store is in San Juan, Texas, on "I" Road, said Shalimar Madrigal, a spokeswoman for the stores' Upper Valley market. In addition to outfitting current Circle K stores with the new brand, there are plans to build several new Stripes stores in the area, she said in the report.

The name should be the only difference customers notice, as store management and employees are expected to stay the same, Peaks added. "We are still the same management team, still the same friendly faces."
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