International forecourt and convenience business Alimentation Couche-Tard has posted a profit of US$324 million in the second quarter of the year, a 22% decline on the same period last year.
However, the Canada-based group said that its burgeoning European business is gaining traction. Same-store sales were up 3.4% in Europe, compared to +2.3% in the US and +1.2% in Canada.
"Our global Circle K brand continues to gain momentum on both continents," said Brian Hannasch, President and CEO, Alimentation Couche-Tard.
"We are pleased to report that more than 1,400 stores have been rebranded globally, of which, over 650 are in Europe. Also, we have observed that changing the brand from Statoil to Circle K in Europe has, in fact, increased customer traffic at the rebranded sites. This performance exceeded our expectations as a decline in customer traffic can usually be expected when replacing established brands.”
Some 777 stores in North America and 653 stores in Europe now display the group's new Circle K global brand.
In February of this year, Alimentation Couche-Tard completed the purchase of Irish forecourt operator Topaz (pictured).
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
