The Casey's convenience store chain, headquartered in Ankeny, keeps growing by opening more stores during the third quarter of its financial year.
Casey's Expands into Texas, Acquires New Stores
Brian Johnson, the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Casey's, updated investors about the company's progress in the third quarter and announced a significant milestone: Casey's has entered Texas, marking its presence in 17 states.
By the end of the quarter, Casey's had built or acquired over 125 stores. "We've made significant strides in expanding our reach," Johnson explained.
Casey's President and CEO, Darren Rebelez, outlined the company's growth strategy. "We aim for a balance between building new stores and acquiring existing ones," Rebelez said. He highlighted the economic advantage of acquisitions, especially as construction costs rise. "It's currently more cost-effective to upgrade kitchens in existing stores than to build from scratch," he noted.
Rebelez also shared insights into Casey's approach to integrating prepared foods into newly acquired stores. "We've become much faster at introducing our food offerings," he said. This speed is partly due to the availability of kitchen space in some acquired stores, which allows quicker equipment installation and menu rollout. "This efficiency helps us capitalize on prepared food sales sooner than before," Rebelez added.
Most of Casey's recent acquisitions involve competitors with fewer than 100 stores. "We're exploring larger deals, but nothing is final yet," Rebelez mentioned, indicating potential future expansion plans.
Rebelez also pointed out the challenges facing many smaller convenience store operators, including rising operational costs and reduced sales of tobacco products. "These issues hit smaller stores hard, especially those without the benefit of operating at a larger scale," he explained.
He noted that the financial performance of these small retailers has been declining, which puts a strain on their ability to keep running smoothly.
This situation has opened doors for Casey's to step in and acquire these struggling businesses.
"As smaller operators find it tougher to stay afloat, we see opportunities to bring them into Casey's family," Rebelez said, indicating the company's strategic position to expand through acquisitions.
Casey's Reports Strong Quarter, Credits Strategy
Casey's General Stores Inc. has announced another successful quarter, showcasing the effectiveness of its business approach. Darren Rebelez, the CEO and president of the Ankeny-based convenience store chain, praised the company's performance.
"Our teams are doing an excellent job with our strategic plans, and it's clear from our results that their hard work is making a difference," Rebelez said during a conference call on March 12 about the company's third fiscal quarter of 2024.
Rebelez highlighted several key initiatives that have contributed to Casey's recent successes. These include the introduction of new programs within the stores and the adoption of innovative tools to boost efficiency.
One notable addition is a new digital tool that helps plan production processes more effectively. "These improvements are helping our stores operate better and show just how resilient our business model is," Rebelez noted, expressing optimism about the company's direction and the efforts of its team members.
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