The Power of One (CSP-December 2008)
Numerous companies agree that the best opportunities for growth rest in more accurately identifying where a retail presence can be secured...It truly does not matter how many retail locations your company might own or operate.  What matters is being committed to seeing each as a distinct retail entity - just one.

What's Your Niche? (NYCU-November 2008)
Understanding the niche of a convenience store or service station location is critical in maximizing in-store sales and gasoline performance.  Strategic facility upgrades and expansions are best accomplished through defining your niche and knowing your area of trade...Answering the question "What's your niche?" is the key to positioning your business and determining investment decisions.

Station Transformation and Makeovers (NYCU-October 2008)
It's intriguing to watch "extreme makeover" type TV shows and view dramatic "before" and "after" photos of people, places, and spaces.  These programs are hits because interest soars as the transformational process breathes new life into "before" images...Many golden opportunities await convenience store owners as worn out facilities rebuild, remodel, and become the existing new "makeover" in their marketplace.

Finding the Formula for Success (NYCU-September 2008)
Decisions to raze, rebuild, remodel, expand, or create new profit centers (car wash, QSR, etc) become high potential opportunities with market appropriate information and resulting sales and fuel volume forecasts.  Merchandise offerings and service mix fulfill the needs of the specific market segments and customer elements.  This is the direct route to bottom line results versus the shotgun approach.

Flexibility Matters Most (CSP-July 2008)
As a retailer, how do you respond to the community when you learn that it is about to be the beneficiary of a $6-billion energy-related contract?  Not a possibility, a fact!  Framed another way, are you ready and able to adapt to changes in your marketplace, whether it means creating an entirely new offer or subtracting from what you're already doing?

To 'Supersize' or Not (CSP-March 2008)
At the end of the 20th century, the term "supersize" became part of our vocabulary.  It was created by the fastfood industry in the ongoing "burger wars" that had begun when fastfood companies looked to lift flat revenues without having to address the industry's deeper problem...

Some Changes, Good and Sad (NPN-December 2007)
On a more sentimental note, this is the last issue in which Jim Fisher, CEO of the retail site analysis, market analysis and screening, and retail sales forecasting modeling colutancy, IMST Corp., provides us with our "Last Word" column.

Blink: Don't Blink (NPN-December 2007)
This article serves as Jim's last "The Last Word."  Many events have occurred in the space of time this column has been written.  It has been the formation of a bridge between all of us as to what matters in this industry, in our companies and in our lives.  I hope this very last page of this magazine continues to bring you enjoyment each and every month it is published....

Nurturing the Goose... (NPN-November 2007)
In our industry there are two types of retail facilities: the nurtured and the neglected.  A total of 80 percent of respondents do not reinvest (nurture) in the properties to any significant level for at least six years after a store is opened; whereas virtually every retail indicator suggests that retail operations must be refreshed and updated at least every two years.  Nurture the Goose...don't smash the egg.

Invisibility (NPN-October 2007)
It is with the idea of "The Invisible Man" that I began a little experiment approximately two years ago: if I'm not acknowledged within two minutes from the time of being seated, then I simply get up and leave the restaurant.  All of this has been based upon the restaurant segment of the retail industry, but this can be transferred into our industry as well.  Just how are we building great customer experiences if the simple act of recognition and appreciation for stopping and spending time with up cannot be accomplished?

Yard Sale (NPN-September 2007)
Accumulation exists within all areas of our personal and business lives.  Each of us can probably identify where in our personal lives it might exist.  However, we must address asset accumulation within our companies - specifically, retail asset accumulation and its overall impact on our company.  That's not to say we must conduct a yard sale of our retail facilities, but we must be constantly vigilant as to what forces are evolving in each marketplace our facilities exist.

Localization, Not Globalization (CSP-August 2007)
It is the smaller market that has been abandoned in past decades in terms of new-format introduction.  This fact is now becoming acutely apparent to visionary retailers within this industry.  If our industry continuously focuses on what the requirements are in Birmingham and how to best serve its needs, we will not have to be concerned about Brussels.  Then, and only then, are we as an industry being true to those we are entrusted to serve.

Some Would Say That Familiar Icons Were Not Retailers (NPN-August 2007)
The famous "three wise monkeys" can be re-named "Stop, Look, and Listen."  In the retail industry, we must "Stop" before we speak, "Look" for the details to improve customer service, and "listen" to the daily hustle and a bustle of activity.  It's o.k. to make a monkey out of yourself every once in a while.