QuikTrip

Not to be confused with Kwik Trip, the La Crosse, Wisconsin-based chain of convenience stores.
QuikTrip Corporation
Private
Industry Retail (convenience stores)
Founded September 25, 1958
Headquarters Tulsa, Oklahoma
Number of locations
 700
Key people
 Chet Cadieux (CEO)
Revenue $11.2 billion (2013)
Number of employees
 19,920
Website QuikTrip.com

QuikTrip (abbreviated QT) is a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based chain of convenience stores which primarily operates in the Midwestern and Southern United States.

The first QuikTrip was opened in 1958 in Tulsa by Burt Holmes and Chester Cadieux. The company expanded outside of Oklahoma in 1968, and began selling gasoline in 1971.[1] Chester's son, Chet, Jr., is the current CEO.

Since 1991, QuikTrip has promoted its gasoline as "high-quality" with an unconditional guarantee. In 2005 QuikTrip and Chevron were the first two retailers to earn a "Top Tier" rating from General Motors, BMW, Honda, Volkswagen, Audi, and Toyota. (The "Top Tier" rating exceeds the United States Environmental Protection Agency's standards for gasoline additives.)[2]

Stores and locations

QuikTrip operates 725 stores[3] which are located in the following areas of the United States:

All stores are owned and operated by the company.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta metro areas, QuikTrip competes head to head with RaceTrac, an Atlanta-based convenience store chain that is very similar to QuikTrip inside and out. Both chains tend to have new clean facilities with abundant on-site lighting and a large convenience area.. In many cases, the two competitors are located directly across the street or on opposite street corners from one another. Because the company operates stores in Iowa and holds the trademarks to the name within that state, competing chain Kwik Trip uses a different name for their stores in the state, Kwik Star.

History

In 1994, QuikTrip acquired the former Memorex/Telex Communications headquarters in Tulsa and remodeled part of the building for its Oklahoma division. In 2003, QuikTrip decided to consolidate all employees into one corporate campus in south Tulsa and sold the building to Community Care College.[4]

In 2007, QuikTrip also operated a store within the Sprint Center in Kansas City.[5] The location only offered concessions and not gasoline. The store was closed in mid-2013.

In 2011, QuikTrip purchased a former Dillons grocery store in Wichita, Kansas. Currently, QuikTrip is using it for storage. Future plans for this particular property have not yet been determined.[6]

In 2014, a QuikTrip store in Ferguson, Missouri was looted and subsequently burned in a riot following the fatal August 9 police shooting of Michael Brown.[7]

Highlights

Exterior of a QuikTrip store in Des Moines, Iowa

Customer expedition

In an attempt to increase speed and improve customer service at Checkout, QuikTrip asks customers to stand at the counter versus standing in a long line. Employees are taught at orientation to go provide assistance on an additional register when the customer to cashier ratio exceeds 3:1, and to direct customers to the closest available checkout.

QT Kitchens

QuikTrip has begun an initiative of offering fresh food made daily at its own bakery and commissary referred to as QT Kitchens. The new offer includes fresh sandwiches, wraps, salads, fruit, and various pastries made and delivered daily.[11] With the completion of the Dallas/Fort Worth facility, the line of products are available in all current markets.

Standalone store

The company's first store without gasoline will be located in midtown Atlanta at the Viewpoint Midtown condominium building on Peachtree Street. It is expected to open in late spring or early summer 2016.

References

  1. ↑ Brian Barber (2007-06-19). "A More Congenial Spot: Camelot site may be QuikTrip milestone". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  2. ↑ OuikTrip Gasoline
  3. ↑ "Locations". QuikTrip. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ Laurie Winslow (July 11, 2003). "QuikTrip Sells Former Office to School". Tulsa World.
  5. ↑ City, Kansas (September 20, 2007). "QuikTrip will open store in Sprint Center".
  6. ↑ Quiktrip buys former Dillons building in Wichita.
  7. ↑ Carroll, Rory (August 17, 2014). "In the Ferguson tempest, fury and resentment fuel protesters' fire". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "100 Best Companies to Work For". Fortune. 2006. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ Forbes Ranks QT 30th largest private company.
  10. ↑ http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article317837/QuikTrip-to-close-in-Sprint-Center.html
  11. ↑ Siebenmark, Jerry (November 3, 2012). "QuikTrip to build Gen 3 store at Kellogg, Broadway". The Wichita Eagle.

External links

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