Dive Brief:
- EG group will debut ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at 20 more c-stores by the end of the year and is “exploring a range of options to further accelerate” the rollout, co-founder and co-CEO Zuber Issa said in the company’s third-quarter earnings report.
- The stations will be EG Group’s proprietary EV Point ultrafast chargers and will be located at c-stores in the U.K. As of October, EG Group had 250 charging stations at 98 c-stores in the U.K. and Europe, as well as an unidentified number in development at 50 U.S. locations.
- Inside the store, EG Group saw its foodservice gross profit increase by 21% year-over-year in constant currency, and opened 14 foodservice outlets during the quarter — bringing its total to 1,895 throughout its network.
Dive Insight:
Zuber said EG Group has been “hugely encouraged” by the rollout of its EV Point chargers, which first debuted at the company’s flagship Frontier Park site in Blackburn, U.K.
“We are already seeing the benefits of combining EV charging infrastructure with our multi-services sites, which allow consumers to enjoy a meal or a cup of coffee, or shop for groceries while they wait for their car to charge,” he said.
The announcement of these additional charging stations comes about six weeks after EG Group laid out its overall EV charging strategy in its inaugural environmental, social and governance (ESG) report. In it, EG Group said it was developing its charging infrastructure in the U.S. and looked to reach 300 total charging points in the U.K. and Europe by the end of the year, as well as lower its carbon footprint 100% by 2050.
In the ESG report, EG Group said it’s aiming to have two to six charging points per site where it offers the service, which will feature load-balancing technology that lets several customers use a single charting point simultaneously.
Additionally, the ChargePoint back-office technology used for its EV Point chargers lets customers find EG locations and pay for charging usage through the ChargePoint mobile app or on site via a payment card.
“As part of the trials of our proprietary EV charging, we will track the kilowatts customers use to charge their cars, and use industry-accepted averages to translate that into the amount of carbon emissions saved,” Zuber said.
When it comes to foodservice, EG Group said it’s continuing to introduce more outlets, including its proprietary brands LEON and Cooplands and third-party branded offerings. Just this week, the company’s U.S. c-store chain Cumberland Farms revealed it’s opening its second Ria’s Pizzeria on Nov. 30. in Norton, Massachusetts, with “many coming to the region.”
Besides seeing its overall foodservice gross profits rise by nearly a quarter, EG Group also saw its grocery and merchandise operations increasing 5% year-over-year during the quarter, according to the earnings report.
Blackburn, U.K.-based EG Group operates around 1,800 convenience stores and gas stations in the U.S. and more than 6,300 globally.
