Dive Brief:
- Convenience retailer Kwik Trip has plans underway to open 31 new-build c-stores across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and South Dakota by the end of this year, according to a company spokesperson.
- Minnesota leads the way with 10 new Kwik Trip stores in the works, followed by eight in Wisconsin, six in South Dakota, four in Iowa, two in Michigan and one in Illinois. The first of these stores are expected to begin opening in August, the spokesperson said.
- Kwik Trip’s latest growth plans come a few months after the retailer outlined details for its first stores in Michigan and South Dakota — its fifth and sixth states of operation.
Dive Insight:
When Kwik Trip builds a new site, it usually takes about four months from the time shovels hit the ground to when customers first enter the store, the spokesperson said. He noted that most of the company’s 2023 new builds will begin construction this month.
Many of Kwik Trip’s stores set to open in Minnesota are in the western part of the state, and this particular expansion “is a natural progression” as the retailer moves into Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the spokesperson said.
This especially applies to the store that will be built in Luverne, Minnesota, which is only about 30 miles east of Sioux Falls. The company revealed its expansion into Sioux Falls in January.
Besides Luverne, other Minnesota cities expecting a newly built Kwik Trip this year include Lino Lakes, Elko New Market, Worthington, Redwood Falls, East Bethel, Melrose, Kasson, Cambridge and Marshall.
The spokesperson also noted that the two new Michigan stores will be built in the state’s Upper Peninsula. Kwik Trip opened its first store in Michigan last September in Ironwood, which is also in this region. Around that time, the company said it was building an additional store in Bessemer, about seven miles west of Ironwood.
The spokesperson did not specify cities or regions for the new stores in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.
La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip is one of the largest c-store operators in the U.S. with over 800 locations in its network.
