Rebranding of 10,000 sites to Circle K will be done by 2018, announces Jacob Schram

After a huge expansion plan that has led Alimentation Couche-Tard to be one of the leading fuel retailers in the world, the huge rebranding operation will be completed by next year.

Speaking at the NACS Insight Summit – Europe, Jacob Schram, Group President of European Operations, announced that Alimentation Couche-Tard will complete the rebranding of all its petrol stations to the Circle K brand by 2018, involving more than 10,000 sites.

The group has acquired in the last couple of years the assets of national and international fuel retailers such as CST Brands, Imperial Oil, The Pantry, Ireland´s Topaz, Shell in Denmark, and Sevenoil Est OÜ in Estonia, among others. The company is now on course to unify all the different brands under one single flag – Circle K.

Around 1,100 fuel stations have already been rebranded in Europe, with most of them previously working under the Statoil brand.

“Although widely respected, the Statoil brand was not very well positioned for the future. Circle K better emphasizes our new focus on convenience,” said Jacon Schram.

In the case of Ireland, where Couche-Tard recently acquired the growing business of Topaz, the rebranding process has been delayed until next year due to the current roll out of the Miles premium fuel.

“Those stations that have already been rebranded to the new Circle K image are showing better results. Most station operators are eager to make the switch,” he added.

The Circle K brand was founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, as a chain of food stores. The company quickly grew through a number of acquisitions and by 1975 there were already 1,000 Circle K stores across the US. Canadian group Alimentation Couche-Tard bought the company in 2003 for USD$804 million.

Schram was at the St. Pancras Hotel in London to receive the NACS Insight European Leader of the Year award and give a conference about his new book ‘The Essence of Business’, which discusses leadership, management of workers, employer brand, and company dynamics.

Formerly the CEO for Statoil Fuel & Retail, Schram was appointed to his current position at Couche-Tard in June 2012.