What is C-store format?

[Elias]

What is C-store format?

[Clare]

C-store format means Convenience store. In the recent past, each supermarket looked about the same - 2,400 square feet of packaged consumer goods. Today, companies in the industry are approaching markets with different types of stores and different product offerings. There are mini supermarkets under canopies, shops with ordinary sizes with an expanded culinary service and even supermarkets with a wide range of products offered and in stores for catering.

The fastest growing segments of the supermarket market are considered by many "non-traditional" stores. That is, store formats other than 2,400 square feet, larger or smaller. Changes in store formats have implications for all elements of the industry. Retail managers are concerned about the competitive impact and their marketing strategies and niches.

The product providers want to know the format changes, as they dictate the requirements for the appropriate packaging, promotion, and distribution of the product for the stores. Suppliers of equipment and systems want to develop their own equipment and systems to match the formats of different types of stores. Investors and financial analysts want to understand the economy of the changes taking place and the possible impact on the supermarket industry. Finally, various state institutions - local, state and federal - must understand the various formats of stores.

Based on this study, six formats were identified as representing trends in the supermarket industry. In six supermarket formats:
- kiosk;
- mini convenience store;
- limited goods shop;
- traditional discount shop;
- expanded fertilizer store;
- hyper convenience store.

The following is a general description of each type.

Kiosk
This format is less than 800 square feet and is designed to provide additional income beyond sales of gasoline. Gasoline is always the focus of this operation when the owner is usually an oil company or a marketer. The store sells only high-speed items that can be found in traditional stores (tobacco, drinks, snacks, and confectionery). Food products are noticeably absent, like any kind of catering. Shopping stores can only account for about ten percent of revenues in such places. Parking is usually only at the pumps. Hours differ depending on the location and propensity of the owner. Typical customers are transients and locals who stop to buy gasoline. Mini

Convenience store
his store format, usually between 800 and 1200 square feet, is extremely popular among oil companies, and the focus is on gasoline sales. Nevertheless, in such places, owners consider the sale of stores as an important part of income and profitability. The choice of groceries is usually very thin, and the food is harvested sandwiches. Usually, there is usually no parking in the pumps, although in some places there is a small striped parking. Opening hours usually range from 18 to 24 hours. Customers usually buy gasoline. However, in cities, there are stores of this size that can or cannot sell gasoline.

Shop with limited choice assortment
These stores, which range from 1,500 to 2,200 square feet, are becoming more numerous. They are often associated with oil companies and are in the range of the size of a re-equipped service station with two compartments. Both gasoline and store sales, as a rule, are important parts of profitability. They differ from the "mini-store" in a wider range of products and food products (although still somewhat limited by traditional store standards). In addition, a simple culinary service (hot dogs, nachos, popcorns, etc.) can be offered. Although gasoline buyers, as a rule, are still the main part of the client base, the traditional patrons of the store are important. Striped parking and extended hours are common.

Traditional discount shop
Most of the original stores belong to this category. They range from 2,400 to 2,500 square feet in size and offer a mixture of products that includes dairy products, baked goods, snacks, beverages, tobacco, groceries, health and beauty products, confectionery, and possibly finished products, fresh or frozen meat products, gasoline, various services and limited products. Most stores of this size have from 6 to 12 striped parking spaces or some convenient pedestrian access. Hours are prolonged in comparison with average retailers with a large percentage of open 24 hours a day. Such operations usually belong to supermarket chains, but oil companies have also created or purchased stores of this size. Advanced Shop Growth is observed in the number of stores in the range from 2,800 to 3,600 square