I’m no stranger to falling into the loving embrace of encased meats, but who knew that gas stations are also seeking comfort from hot dogs these days? While it’s good news for drivers that gas costs less, for oil companies those cheaper prices at the pump means sales that slump (sorry sorry I had to).
Royal Dutch Shell is betting on hot dogs and coffee sales at Shell stations to bring in money while oil is selling so cheaply, reports Bloomberg News.
And it’s a good bet, it seems — retail sales for Shell’s 45,000 gas stations around the world generated $6 billion in non-fuel revenue last year, a number that the company says will rise this year.
Some stations in Norway are especially hot dog happy, selling more than 1,000 wieners per day, Shell says, while the chain overall has sold about 100 million cups of coffee last year as well.
Shell has plans to expand and sell more things like smoothies, quiche, oatmeal and other “Deli2go” brand items.
“In the retail business, it’s far more predictable,” said Istvan Kapitany, the company’s executive vice president for retail. “If you do a good job, you can predict how you’re going to do.”
And if you sell hot dogs, the odds are someone will eat them.
What Do You Do If You’re Shell and Oil Is Plunging? Sell 1,000 Hot Dogs a Day [Bloomberg News]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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