Dive Brief:
- Sampson-Bladen Oil Co., parent of Han-Dee Hugo’s convenience stores, has agreed to acquire the 15-location Breeze Thru Markets chain in North Carolina, according to a Monday announcement.
- This marks the second time since the turn of the century that wholesaler Cary Oil, Breeze Thru’s parent company, has chosen to exit c-store operations. Cary will continue to operate its fuel distribution business in over 20 states once the deal closes, according to the announcement.
- The deal will grow Sampson-Bladen’s c-store network to 125 locations, all of which are located in North Carolina, making the Clinton-based company one of the largest c-store operators in the state.
Dive Insight:
Cary, which has operated its wholesale business since 1959, launched Breeze Thru in 2013 to boost returns on several c-stores it rented out in North Carolina. Cary used to operate these stores directly, but decided to lease them in 2007 after finding “limited success” with them, former president Jim Bosworth said in an interview with CSP Daily News nearly a decade ago.
Cary aspired to open more than 50 Breeze Thru locations within five years after debuting the banner, Bosworth said in the 2016 interview. The banner eventually topped out at around 20 locations.
It’s unclear why Cary has now decided to sell the chain, although many small c- store retailers are struggling to stay afloat in today’s inflationary environment due to a lack of pricing power and economies of scale.
A sale price for the 15 Breeze Thru stores — most of which are located around Raleigh — was not disclosed.
For Sampsen-Bladen, the deal will grow its c-store network by nearly 15%. A spokesperson from Matrix Capital Markets Group, which advised the sale, did not respond by press time when asked if the stores will be rebranded to Sampsen-Bladen’s Han-Dee Hugo’s banner.
“The Stephenson Family has built a very well-known and successful family business, and we are honored that they now trust our family to carry on this one small part of their legacy,” John Litton Clark, president of Sampson-Bladen, said in the announcement.
