Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Convenience store |
Founded | 1984 |
Founder | Exxon and Mobil |
Headquarters | United States |
Number of locations | About 2000 (2021) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Owner | ExxonMobil |
Parent | Alimentation Couche-Tard (United States) Parkland Corporation (Canada) ExxonMobil (other territories) |
Website | ontherun.com |
On the Run is a flagship convenience store brand developed by ExxonMobil, used at Exxon and Mobil stations in the United States and at Esso and Mobil stations internationally. Alimentation Couche-Tard acquired the On the Run trademark and franchise network in the U.S. in 2009, and Parkland Fuel did the same in Canada in 2016; ExxonMobil retains full ownership of the brand in the rest of the world.
On the Run stores are described as larger and having more products than older-model convenience stores, featuring "fresh snacks, fill-in groceries, health & beauty supplies, plus quick meal options". [1]
The name "On the Run" is used, untranslated, around the world. Locations in the Canadian province of Quebec utilize similar branding as "Marché Express"; Imperial Oil faced criticism in 2007 when it planned to rebrand the locations as On the Run (beginning with a new location at a Mount Royal Esso station), but threats of boycotts by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, as well as sanctions from the Office québécois de la langue française (which enforces legal protections of the French language), caused the company to backtrack on this decision. [2]
On April 29, 2009, Canadian convenience store company Alimentation Couche-Tard, which operates stores in the United States under the Circle K name, acquired the 450-store On the Run franchise network (the stores themselves remain with local franchisees) plus 43 ExxonMobil-owned and operated stores in the Phoenix, Arizona area. [3] Many of these stores have been converted to Circle K locations, and the On the Run brand is now only primarily seen in Missouri, Louisiana, and Maine.
In August 2011, 7-Eleven announced it was acquiring 51 ExxonMobil-owned and operated On the Run locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; the convenience stores were re-branded as 7-Eleven, but will still sell Exxon-branded gasoline. [4] Houston-area On The Run locations (81 total) were rebranded either as a Timewise (Landmark Industries) or Star Stop (the retail division of Panjwani Energy LLC) convenience store since 7-Eleven does not operate franchises in the Houston Metro area. [5]
In 2016, Imperial Oil began to divest its retail locations in Canada; various Esso locations in Ontario and Quebec were sold to Couche-Tard (being rebranded as Circle K and Couche-Tard), [6] and Seven & I Holdings acquired 148 locations in Alberta and British Columbia for $2.8 billion (with the stores either being converted to 7-Eleven, or rebranded as "smartstop 24/7" with no change in store format over On the Run). [7] [8] Parkland Corporation acquired the remaining On the Run/Marché Express franchise network and associated trademarks in Canada, and has since begun to utilize the brand (including a refreshed version of the concept introduced 2018) in conjunction with its own retail brands (such as Chevron, Pioneer, and Ultramar). [9] [10]
Ireland previously had On the Run stores located in Esso stations however they were rebranded after Exxon sold their Irish petrol stations to Topaz which was later sold to Couche Tard with the forecourts rebranded to Circle K. Many of them had a food company called Nine-One-One in them, but they were ordered by the High Court to withdraw in 32 stores.[ citation needed ]
Esso's company-operated convenience stores in the UK were run through ROC UK, a subsidiary of Esso Petroleum Company Limited and ExxonMobil. Initially branded Snack & Shop, the stores were gradually converted to the On The Run format after Exxon acquired Mobil. Between 2011 and 2015 Esso/ROC sold off 359 of its company outlets in regional tranches to three large independent operators - Euro Garages, MRH (GB), and Rontec, although it continued to supply them with Esso branded fuel through an independent wholesaler, Greenergy. [11] None of the new owners continued to use On the Run. Euro Garages mainly used third party names, notably Spar and - for food offerings - Greggs, Subway, Burger King and KFC; MRH used a mix of third party names and its own Hursts C-store branding; and Rontec initially mainly used its own Shop'n Drive name, but occasionally Spar and a discount format, Family Shopper. [12] Esso retained ownership of around 200 sites that have Tesco Express stores where the site is leased to Tesco but sells Esso branded fuel.
In Egypt, On the Run convenience stores are located at Mobil stations in Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. They are open 24 hours, 7 days a week. [13]
In 2003, On the Run was named Chain of the Year by Convenience Store Decisions (CSD) magazine. In 2007, the chain was again recognized by CSD with the Best in Class Foodservice Award for its line of proprietary gourmet breakfast sandwiches under the On the Run Cafe brand name. [14]
In early 1999, the Peregrine Corporation (Shahin family) registered a separate On The Run brand, now known as OTR, for its convenience store and service station operations in South Australia. In June of the same year, Mobil applied to register trade marks for the words Mobil on the Run and On the Run, the latter of which the Shahin family opposed. [15] [16] Eventually, in 2005, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that the Shahin family did not satisfy the conditions to prove that it owned the trade mark for the words On the Run in common law, even though it had registered the words as a business name, so their opposition to ExxonMobil's trade mark registration was dismissed. [17] However, by 2011, the Shahin family gained sole use of the trade mark and has held it ever since. [16]
While there was no connection between OTR and Mobil's On the Run brands, OTR briefly sold Mobil fuel at 29 sites in South Australia for a few years, after acquiring those Mobil-branded sites in 2010. [18]
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
A convenience store, convenience shop, bodega, corner store, corner shop, or superette is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as tea, coffee, groceries, fruits, vegetables, snacks, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery tickets, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers and magazines.
7-Eleven, Inc. is a Japanese-owned convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as the Southland Ice Company, operating an ice house storefront in Dallas. Then-owned by Southland Corporation, the number of convenience stores expanded and were named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. Southland Corporation changed the stores' name to 7-Eleven in 1946, reflecting expanded hours of operation. Southland Corporation started franchising its stores in 1961; in 1973 Ito-Yokado, a Japanese supermarket chain, signed a franchisee agreement with Southland Corporation to develop 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan. Operating the Japanese stores under Seven-Eleven Japan, Ito-Yokado acquired a 70% stake in Southland Corporation in 1991; as majority owner, it changed Southland Corporation's name to 7-Eleven, Inc. that same year, then expanded to 100% ownership in November 2005, making 7-Eleven, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan. Ito-Yokado reorganized its collective businesses as a holding company in 2005, Seven & I Holdings, with 7-Eleven, Inc. wholly held by Seven-Eleven Japan.
Esso is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso", to which the other Standard Oil companies would later object.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., or simply Couche-Tard, is a Canadian multinational operator of convenience stores. The company has approximately 16,700 stores across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The company operates its corporate stores mainly under the Couche-Tard, Circle K, and On the Run brands but also under the affiliated brands Mac's Convenience Stores, go!, 7-jours, Dairy/Daisy Mart, Becker's and Winks. Operations in Russia were suspended in 2022.
Circle K Stores, Inc. is a North American chain of convenience stores headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc., based in Laval, Quebec. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1990 and went through several owners, before being acquired by Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2003. As of February 2020, Circle K has 9,799 stores in North America, 2,697 stores in Europe, and an additional 2,380 stores operating under franchise agreements worldwide.
Speedway is an American convenience store and fuel station chain headquartered in Enon, Ohio, with locations primarily in the Midwest, East Coast, and Southwestern regions of the United States wholly owned and operated by 7-Eleven. Speedway stations are located in 36 states, up significantly from its core seven-state region in the Midwest since 2012. Prior to 2021, the company was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marathon Petroleum Corporation. It is the largest convenience store chain in central Ohio.
Casey's Retail Company is a chain of convenience stores in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The company is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. As of October 1, 2023, Casey's had 2,500 stores in 16 states. Following 7-Eleven's purchase of Speedway, Casey's is the 3rd largest convenience store chain in the United States and the largest that is wholly American-owned. It is one of two Iowa-based Fortune 500 companies. Casey's is famous for their pizza including a breakfast pizza and a taco pizza resulting in Casey's being the fifth largest pizza chain in the U.S.
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン&アイ・ホールディングス) is a Japanese diversified retail holdings company headquartered in Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. On September 1, 2005, it was established as a result of the integration of three companies: Ito-Yokado, Seven-Eleven Japan, and Denny's Japan. The purpose of this establishment was to create a holding company that would own these three companies. The background behind this decision was that the parent company, Ito-Yokado, was facing deteriorating performance, while its subsidiary, Seven-Eleven Japan, was experiencing growth in both sales and profits and was performing well.
APlus is an American convenience store chain owned and operated by Energy Transfer Partners, with some stores currently owned by Seven & I Holdings (7-Eleven). APlus is also the convenience store chain used by Sunoco.
Stripes Stores is a chain of more than 700 convenience stores in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The locations are former Circle K and Town & Country Food Stores. Other convenience store brands they operate under include IceBox and Quick Stuff. It is one of the largest non-refining operators of convenience stores in the United States.
Topaz was an Irish petroleum retail chain, which had a presence across the island of Ireland. The legal entity was formed in 2005 and previously traded under the Statoil and Shell brands, until 2008 when the Topaz brand replaced both in Ireland. It acquired Esso's Irish operations in 2015. In June 2018, The Topaz brand was replaced by Circle K.
Becker's is a Canadian chain of independent convenience stores selling products of Alimentation Couche-Tard company. The original Becker Milk Company was founded in 1957 in Toronto, Ontario. The chain grew from 5 to 500 stores and was sold in 2006 to Alimentation Couche-Tard. The company converted the company-owned stores to Mac's Milk and later to Circle K, leaving a remnant of affiliate Becker's stores. Starting in 2013, Alimentation Couche-Tard began expanding the affiliate program. There are now over 40 stores in Ontario.
Holiday Stationstores is an American chain of gasoline and convenience stores based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The chain operated roughly 500 locations in 10 states, mostly in its home state of Minnesota, as well as the Northern Tier and Alaska.
CST Brands, Inc. was an American publicly traded fuel and convenience retailer. It was the second-largest of its kind in North America, with 1,900 outlets in the U.S. and Canada. CST Brands had 2013 revenues of about $12.8 billion and made approximately $360 million in EBITDA. Stores were concentrated in the central and southwestern U.S. states and in eastern Canada. Corner Store was the firm's primary retail brand in the US and in Canada's English speaking provinces. In Canada's French speaking provinces, Dépanneur du Coin was the company's retail brand. In addition to convenience store retail sales, CST Brands also sold fuel under a number of licensed energy brands such as Valero, Exxon, Shell, and Phillips 66.
The Peregrine Corporation is an Australian privately-owned company headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia. It formed and until April 2023 operated the On the Run brand of service stations and convenience store in South Australia, and the Smokemart and Giftbox nationwide. Peregrine owns The Bend Motorsport Park at Tailem Bend, and the Mallala Motor Sport Park.
EG Group Limited is a British operator of filling stations, convenience stores and food service providers across Europe, the United States and Australia. It was founded in Blackburn in 2001 by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, initially as Euro Garages.
Parkland Corporation is a Calgary, Alberta-based energy and retail company. Parkland operates gas stations under the Esso, Ultramar, Chevron, Pioneer, and Fas Gas Plus brands. The company holds the rights to the convenience store brand On the Run in Canada and most of the United States, and franchises White Spot's fast food restaurant chain Triple O's in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. Parkland also operates commercial oil and gas businesses under the Bluewave Energy, Sparlings, and Ultramar brands.
OTR, formerly On the Run, is an Australian chain of petrol stations and convenience stores based in South Australia. Unrelated to ExxonMobil's On the Run store branding, the OTR brand was first established in 1999 by the Shahin family, who were already owning and operating service stations in Adelaide since 1984. It owns OTR and Store 24.