Few convenience store retailers have been as active on the mergers and acquisitions front in recent years as GPM Investments, the c-store arm of Arko Corporation. The Richmond, Virginia-based company, which operates more than 1,500 c-stores in 33 states, has made more than 20 acquisitions since 2007, most of which have come between 2013 and 2023.

Arie Kotler, president and CEO of Arko, has said in the past that M&A is in the company’s blood and a core part of its business. 

In recent years, Arko’s $1.5 billion financing commitment with investment trust Oak Street Real Estate Capital has given the retailer a runway to keep making moves. In the past 18 months alone, Arko closed on four deals that added hundreds of new stores to its network.

“We ran and ran and ran in order to utilize this pool of capital,” Kotler said during Arko’s presentation at Raymond James’ investor conference on March 4.

But as 2024 continues rolling, the c-store retailer appears to be slowing down its acquisition strategy. 

Kotler said that when it comes to M&A, Arko has “reached our victory,” and that the company plans to shift more energy toward building up its current store network.

“I think now is an opportunity for us to come back and peel the onion,” Kotler said. “There are a lot of opportunities within our stores that are untapped.”

Foodservice is an area Kotler said that Arko is focusing on enhancing. It’s seeking to make sure, for instance, that its recent $4.99 pizza special makes its way into every location the company operates.

“If we can expand that pizza inside the rest of the stores, I think that's going to be a terrific outcome for us,” he said.

Another area Arko has been focused on in recent months is its Fas Rewards loyalty program. The platform was re-launched last April with new features like exclusive app-only deals, age verification for tobacco and alcohol, a virtual wallet, and ordering and delivery. As of the end of Q4, Arko had over 2 million members enrolled into the program.

Kotler did not clarify whether Arko is merely slowing down its M&A strategy or pausing it altogether. But the executive made it clear that the company is prioritizing spending time on its existing network instead of gunning for more locations at the moment.

“We’ve actually been laser-focused on inside the stores — how we fix some of those stores, how we invest in some of those stores and how we expand some of those stores,” he said.