Dive Brief:
- Midwest convenience retailer True North Energy has acquired 15 fee-owned c-stores in Wisconsin from Wagner Shell Company, also known as Wagner Oil, according to a Wednesday announcement.
- The sites are located around Green Bay, according to the announcement. All 15 locations will continue to sell Shell-branded fuel but will be rebranded to True North’s banner.
- This comes nearly three years after Brecksville, Ohio-based True North first entered Wisconsin, where the c-store retailer now operates over 30 locations.
Dive Insight:
According to Wagner’s website, most of the fee-owned stores that it’s selling to True North are located slightly northwest of Green Bay, closer to the central region of the state. True North’s largest competition in this area will be La Cross, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip, which has hundreds of c-stores in this part of the state.
The 15 c-stores will allow True North to expand its brand in Wisconsin while adding what it believes are “excellent facilities” to its portfolio, Mark Lyden, True North’s president and CEO, said in the announcement.
“True North will continue to provide area customers with quality products, exceptional service and competitive fuel prices, as we realize customers have a choice where they purchase their fuel and convenience items,” Lyden said.
Wagner will retain its wholesale fuel and transportation businesses, along with about 40 dealer locations in Wisconsin, after the transaction.
Antigo, Wisconsin-based Wagner was founded in the 1950s by the Wagner family. The company converted to a Shell Oil company in 1984. Owner Melissa Wagner said the sale of her family’s c-stores is “bittersweet,” and that she is stepping away from the business to pursue other interests.
Wagner’s sale to True North is yet another example of family owned convenience retailers leaving the industry as operating costs plague small and mid-size retailers.
True North Energy was founded in 1999 through a partnership between the Lyden Family and Shell Oil US. The convenience retailer operates 186 locations across Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It also supplies fuel to 300 Shell, BP, Amoco, Marathon and Arco branded dealers.
