january/february 2013 t h e v o the franchise...

T H E V O I C E O F 7 - E L E V E N F R A N C H I S E E SJanuary/February 2013

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What Is The National Coalition’s Role?7-Eleven’s Evolving StrategySurvivorship Agreement: What You Must KnowCommunication + Relationship+ Opportunities = SuccessCleanliness Is A Two-Way StreetUsing The Balanced PortfolioApproach At RetailFailed Beverage And Food Legislation To Resurface

What Is The National Coalition’s Role?7-Eleven’s Evolving StrategySurvivorship Agreement: What You Must KnowCommunication + Relationship+ Opportunities = SuccessCleanliness Is A Two-Way StreetUsing The Balanced PortfolioApproach At RetailFailed Beverage And Food Legislation To Resurface

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AVA N T I J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 11

31 What Is The National Coalition’s Role?By Bruce Maples, Chairman, NCASEF

35 7-Eleven’s Evolving StrategyBy Jivtesh Gill, Executive Vice Chairman, NCASEF

39 Survivorship Agreement: What You Must KnowBy Arnold J. Hauptman, Esq., NCASEF General Counsel

45 Communication + Relationship + Opportunities = SuccessBy Jas Dhillon, Vice Chairman, NCASEF

26 Cleanliness Is A Two-Way StreetBy Serge Haitayan, President, Sierra FOA

47 Using The Balanced Portfolio Approach At RetailAnheuser-Busch Marketing Research

T H E V O I C E O F 7 - E L E V E N F R A N C H I S E E S

Contents

Member News.............12SEI Acquires C.L. Thomas Locations, 2012 Expan-sion, Miami Comeback, Most Innovative, Swedish

Stores, 7-Eleven Top Coffee Seller, Franchise 500List, C-Store Count, Channel Ends On Positive Note,Payroll Tax Changes, SEI’s Foodservice Engine, Dunkin’ #1In Coffee Loyalty, 5-hour ENERGY Donation, Gas PricesRise, Mobile Wallet, NY Smuggled Cigs, Shoppers ExpandBeyond the Store, Retail Health Clinics

Legislative Update................................ 18NYC’s Large Soda Ban, Texas Seeks Soda Tax, Rhode IslandSoda Tax, Online Lottery In Florida, Chicago Ban On EnergyDrinks, Energy Drink Sales To Kids, Texas StatewideSmoking Ban, Pennsylvania Liquor PrivatizationPlan, Prescription-Only Cigarettes, Colorado CigSales Tax, Colorado Craft Beer Bill Nixed, FloridaCity Considers Limit On C-Stores, NY MinimumWage Hike, NYC Ban On Plastic-Foam, SacramentoPlastic Bag Ban, NJ Minimum Wage Resolution

SEI News...........................................................56Healthy Fresh Food Options, Fabulous Fresh Foods Friday, FirstPre-Fab 7-Eleven, Darkest Brazilian Roast Special Offer, Mo-bile Advertising, Franchising Seminar In Orlando, JacksonvilleStore Openings, Franchisee's American Dream

Bits & Pieces............................................24Vendor Focus..........................................59Franchisee Calendar......................78

DEPARTMENTS

January/February 2013

AVANTI is published by the NationalCoalition of Associations of 7-ElevenFranchisees for all independent fran-chisees, corporate store managers,area licensees and interested parties.National Coalition offices are locatedat 3561 East Sunrise Drive, Suite 135,Tucson, AZ 85718. For membership in-formation, call 520-577-8711, [email protected] or fax to520-577-4688. AVANTI Editorial andAdvertising Offices are located at 116Bellevue Ave., Suite 304, Langhorne,Pennsylvania 19047. For advertisinginformation, call Sheldon Smith at215 750-0178 or fax to 215 750-0399; on-line, send messages [email protected].

FEATURING16 Cal-Neva FOA Raises $12,000 To Fight Breast Cancer

20 Franchisee Donates Coats To Help Local Kids Stay Warm

48 Mr. Khan Goes To Washington

50 Failed Beverage And Food Legislation To Resurface In 2013

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12 AVA N T I J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3

NATIONAL COALITION OF ASSOCIATIONS OF 7-ELEVEN FRANCHISEESNATIONAL OFFICERS

Bruce MaplesNATIONAL CHAIRMAN

520-577-8711 • [email protected]

Jivtesh GillEXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN


Arnold J. HauptmanGENERAL COUNSEL


Roger St. GeorgeVICE CHAIRMAN


Jatinder SinghVICE CHAIRMAN


Jas DhillonVICE CHAIRMAN


Anas AbboudTREASURER


CONVENTION CHAIRPERSON

[email protected]

John RiggioMEETING/TRADE SHOW COORDINATOR


Sheldon SmithAVANTI PUBLISHER

ADVERTISING MANAGER


The Voice of 7-Eleven FranchiseesJanuary/February 2013

©2013 National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees

Avanti Magazine is the registered trademark of The National Coalition Of Associations Of 7-Eleven Franchisees.

Sheldon SmithPUBLISHER & ADVERTISING SALES

215 750-0178

[email protected]

John SantiagoASSISTANT EDITOR

215 750-0178

[email protected]

Tricia KesslerGRAPHIC DESIGN

KESSLER DIGITAL DESIGN

SEI Acquires South TexasC.L. Thomas Locations 7-Eleven, Inc. recently announced ithad acquired 143 Speedy Stop and Tiger-market retail locations from C.L.Thomas, Inc. of Victoria, Texas. The ac-quisition, which closed December 31, in-creases 7-Eleven stores’ footprint in SanAntonio, where the company recentlypurchased 25 stores as part of its acqui-sition from TETCO, Inc. It also adds to7-Eleven’s growing fuel wholesale-deliv-ery business because the acquisition in-cludes gasoline distribution to approx-imately 150 dealer-operated sites. SEIsaid it plans to remodel and rebrand asignificant number of the new locationsin 2013.

2012 Expansion Goes Better Than Planned SEI ended 2012 with a bang, havingadded more stores last year than initiallyplanned, according to CSNews Online.Earlier in the year SEI announced plansto add about 630 new stores in the U.S.and Canada. By the end of 2012 SEI had969 new locations, 961 of them in the U.S.A spokesperson for the company toldCSNews Online that SEI’s focus on main-

taining a strong balance sheet before andduring the recent financial crisis placedthe company on solid footing to grow. Be-cause of this, SEI was able to be "oppor-tunistic" and take advantage of a soft realestate market. CSNews listed SEI’s 2012 U.S. acquisitions as:• 143 stores in Texas from C.L. ThomasInc.

• 12 stores in North Carolina from FastTrack Inc.

• 163 stores in Utah and Texas fromTETCO Inc.

• 67 stores in Ohio and Pennsylvaniafrom EZ Energy USA.

• 58 stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, WestVirginia and Maryland from HandeeMarts.

• 74 stores in West Virginia, Ohio, Penn-sylvania and Kentucky fromPrima Marketing LLC.• 51 locations in north Texas fromExxonMobil.• 55 locations in North and SouthCarolina from Sam's Mart.

• 18 stores in Wisconsin from OpenPantry Food Marts of Wisconsin.

• 23 stores in north and central Texasfrom Strasburger Enterprises. This expansion netted 7-Eleven theNo. 1 spot on Convenience Store News’“Top 20 Growth Chains” list. CSNewspartnered with TDLinx—a service ofNielsen—to identify those c-store opera-tors (21 in all due to a tie) that added themost convenience stores between January1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. 7-Eleven

led the pack by awide margin, withthe No. 2 chain(listed as Military)adding 133 stores.continued on page 16

“7-Eleven opened or acquired 961new locations in the U.S. in 2012.”


continued from page 14

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SOME OF THE FEATURES YOUWILL FIND AT THE WEBSITE:• Franchisee registration page!• Exhibitor registration page!• Sign up for the Joe Saraceno Charity Golf Tournament!• A breakdown of all the seminars, activities and social events scheduledfor the convention!

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Downtown Miami Comeback 7-Eleven is making a comeback indowntown Miami, with three urban-for-mat stores already open in the businessdistrict, reported the Miami Herald.These smaller, urban prototypes with noparking and an emphasis on fresh andgrab-and-go foods are aimed at down-town dwellers and workers on foot. Theopening of 7-Eleven stores has been a wel-come boon to downtown residents andoffice workers who formerly had to relyon often-dingy mom-and-pop conven-ience stores with limited hours and offer-ings. SEI officials told the newspaper thatbringing the urban-format outlets to thedensely populated downtown Miami areawas a no-brainer as the chain seeks outnew markets in which to expand.

At an average of 1,800 square feet, thecompact urban 7-Elevens are about halfthe size of the boxy suburban stores andboast more sophisticated design and fin-ishes tailored to fit into the surroundings.The merchandise sold in these locationsrepresents a paring-down of the typicalsuburban 7-Eleven’s offerings, with slightvariations according to location and clien-tele, and even what special events aregoing on downtown on a given day.

One Of The ‘Most Innovative Companies In Retail’ 7-Eleven has been ranked #3 on FastCompany magazine’s list of the “World'sTop 10 Most Innovative Companies inRetail” for its recent partnership withAmazon.com on a new in-store lockersystem. Fast Company recognized 7-

Eleven for localizing and compartmental-izing its stores. SEI's partnership withAmazon on “Amazon Lockers” allowsusers to have small packages delivered to7-Eleven stores rather than their homes.In 2012, that partnership expanded to fiveareas globally: New York, Seattle, DC, Sil-icon Valley and London. Fast Company’s Top 10 list character-izes the state of innovation in the U.S., fea-turing businesses having the greatestimpacts across their industries and ourculture as a whole.

7-Eleven Among Top Coffee Sellers In U.S. 7-Eleven owns 6.84 percent of the cof-fee market in the U.S. with 92.2 millionservings sold in the fourth quarter of 2012,reported CSP Daily News, citing data fromStudyLogic. This places 7-Eleven fourth on

Cal-Neva FOA Raises $12,000To Fight Breast Cancer Fall brings a lot of changes to our area stores. The leaves change colors, thetemperatures begin to cool off, Pumpkin Spice coffee flavor is back, and 7-Elevenemployees wear… pink. This year marks the first in which the Cal-Neva FOA haschosen to take a stand for the fight against breast cancer. Following in the footsteps of Rhonda and David St. Onge, our local area raisedawareness and funds by selling “Save the Ta-Tas” pink t-shirts and miniature t-shirt

donation signs. For me—likemany other franchisees—breastcancer has personal relevance, asone of my dear family membersis a survivor.

It makes me so proud thatour community and our FOA has displayed such overwhelming support and enthusiasm for this

great cause. In just two short weeks of preparation we surpassed our goal by raising$12,000 for the Renown Health Foundation’s breast cancer treatment program. Ifnothing else, this fundraiser proved that everyone looks good in pink!

—Richard Rose, President, Cal-Neva FOA

continued on page 18

the list, behind McDonald’s (14.32percent share and 193.0 servingssold), Dunkin’ Donuts (13.75 percentand 185.3 million servings) and Star-bucks (11.80 percent and 159.1 millionservings). The order remains the samewhen viewed by coffee dollar sales, with7-Eleven posting $156.7 million in salesin the fourth quarter for a 7.90 percentshare of the market. The other c-storechains to make the list were Speedway(7th) and Wawa (8th).

C-Store Count Hits 149,000 The U.S. convenience store count in-creased to a record 149,220 stores as ofDecember 31, 2012, a 0.7 percent increase(1,094 stores) from 2011, according to the2013 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Indus-try Store Count. The growth of c-storesselling motor fuels was nearly triple theoverall growth in the industry, as fuels re-tailers added convenience operations andconvenience retailers added fueling oper-ations. Overall, 82.6 percent of c-stores(123,289 stores) sell motor fuels, a 1.9 per-cent increase (2,339 stores) over last year. The data further reveals that c-storesaccount for 34.8 percent of all retail outletsin the U.S., which is significantly higherthan the nationwide total of other retailchannels including drug stores (40,727stores), supermarkets (33,192 stores) anddollar stores (24,075 stores). Additionally,the convenience retailing industry contin-ues to be dominated by single-store opera-tors, which now account for 62.9 percent ofall c-stores (93,819 stores total), an increaseof 0.7 percent over last year. The top three states in terms of storecount, according to the report, are Texas(14,920), California (10,916) and Florida(9,571). The bottom three are Alaska (202stores), Delaware (348) and Wyoming (354).


Groups Urge Judge To Block NYC’s Large Soda BanThe American Beverage Association, the National Restaurant Association andseveral local pro-business groups recently asked a judge to temporarily blockNew York City's ban on large sugary drinks from restaurants and elsewhere, say-ing businesses will be forced to spend money to comply with a law that may notsurvive, reported Reuters. The beverage and restaurant industry groups have filedan Article 78 proceeding against the city over the legality of the ban, which out-laws the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces from many of the city's foodservice businesses, including movie theaters and street carts. The ban is set tobegin March 12, although city officials have issued a three-month grace period

before imposing $200 fines for violations. The NAACP and the Hispanic Federationhave filed a joint brief supporting the Amer-ican Beverage Association’s lawsuit, claim-ing that the ban would disproportionatelyhurt small, minority-owned businesses, re-ported CNN. The groups say the ban will"selectively and unfairly harm small and mi-nority-owned businesses by discriminatorilypreventing them from selling large 'sugary beverages' while allowing their large competi-tors such as 7-Eleven and grocery stores to carry the banned sugary beverages." 7-Elevenand other grocery stores and convenience stores are exempt from the ban because theyare regulated by the state, not the city.

Rhode Island Pushes For Soda Tax A small group of Rhode Island lawmakers are trying to place a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, reported the Providence Journal. The legislation would add a $1.28-per-gallon tax to the price of any sugar-sweetened syrup, powder or soft drink, and definessugar-sweetened beverage as any "nonalcoholic beverage ... containing sugar, corn syrupor any other high-calorie sweetener including ... sodas, sports drinks or energy drinks."

Texas Lawmaker Seeks Soda Tax A Texas state legislator recently introduced a bill that would put a penny per ounce taxon "certain sweetened beverages and ingredients" in order to fight obesity and fundhealth and physical education programs in state schools, reported Courthouse News Service.Under House Bill 779, sweetened beverage powders and syrups would also be taxed foreach ounce of sweetened beverage that would be produced from them. No-calorie dietdrinks, 100 percent vegetable or fruit juices by volume, drinks with more than 0.5 percentalcohol, sports drinks, electrolyte replacement drinks, unsweetened milk, baby formula, aswell as water, coffees and teas with no-calorie additives, would be exempt from the tax. The tax would be indexed to inflation and would be paid by businesses that sellthe drinks to the "ultimate consumer." If passed, the bill would

Legislative Update

“NYC’s ban on sugarydrinks larger than16 ounces is set tobegin March 12.”





7-Eleven Top C-Store On‘Franchise 500’ List 7-Eleven is the highest ranked c-store on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2013"Franchise 500" list, coming in at No. 4.The other two chains on the list areampm (No. 22) and Circle K (No. 36).Taking the top three spots are HamptonHotels (No. 1), Subway (No. 2), and JiffyLube (No. 3). To be eligible for the Franchise 500ranking, a franchisor must have a mini-mum of 10 units, with at least one in theU.S. The company must be seeking newfranchisees in the U.S., and it cannot bein Chapter 11 at the time the ranking iscompiled. All companies, regardless ofsize, are judged by the same criteria: ob-jective, quantifiable measures of the fran-chise operation. The most importantfactors include financial strength and sta-bility, growth rate and size of the system.Entrepreneur magazine also considers thenumber of years a company has been in

business and the length of time it hasbeen franchising, startup costs, litigation,percentage of terminations and whetherthe company provides financing.

Dunkin’ #1In CoffeeLoyalty For the sev-enth straight year,Dunkin' Donutshas been rankednumber one incustomer loyaltyin the coffee cate-gory by the BrandKeys CustomerLoyalty Engage-ment Index. This year, Dunkin' Donutswas also ranked number one in customer

loyalty in the packaged coffee category.The 17th annual national survey con-ducted by brand loyalty and engagementconsultancy Brand Keys identifies brands

that are best able to engage consumersby meeting or exceeding their expec-tations, which creates loyal customers.

Recent Payroll TaxChanges ConsumerSpending A change in federal tax law that de-creased the take-home pay of manyworking Americans is impactinghousehold budgets. According to theNational Retail Federation’s 2013 TaxReturns Survey conducted by BIGin-sight, nearly three-quarters (73.3 per-

cent) of those polled say their spendingplans are taking a hit. When asked how the new federal taxlaws have affected spending, saving orbudgeting of their households, nearly sixin 10 (58.2 percent) of those polled say

continued from page 18www.ncasef.com



“7-Elevenranked 4thin nation-wide coffeesales behindMcDonald’s,Dunkin’Donuts andStarbucks.”

Sierra FOA president Serge Haitayan stronglybelieves community involvement is an essen-tial obligation for any small business owner.

For the past five years, ever since the nation’s economy bottomedout and he noticed his customers struggling to get by, Serge hasbeen helping Fresno-area children stay warm during the winter

months by donating coats to local elemen-tary schools. Last November, he donated400 coats to two area schools—200 per. Asolo effort, Serge said he normally ordersthe coats online at major discounters andhands them out the week after Thanksgiv-ing, just as temperatures are getting nippy.He said it’s his way to give back to the com-munity that supports his business.

Franchisee Donates Coats To Help Local Kids Stay Warm

Franchisee Serge Haitayan was featured in an ABC News report about his coat donations to local area school-children near his store in Fresno.



their plans have been either somewhat orgreatly impacted. Specifically, nearly half(45.7 percent) say they will spend less over-all, and 35.6 percent will watch for salesmore often. Additionally, one-third (33.5percent) will reduce how much they dineout and 24.5 percent will spend less on “lit-tle luxuries,” such as trips to coffee shops,manicures and high-end cosmetic items.

C-Store Channel Ends2012 On A Positive Note Visits to convenience stores increasedby 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012compared to the same quarter a year ago,reflecting positive movement in some key

economic indicators and lower gas pricesin the last quarter of the year, according toglobal information company The NPDGroup. NPD’s Convenience Store Monitorreveals that the increase in traffic was at-tributed to an increase in average monthlyvisits, which grew 3.7 percent over last yearas c-store shoppers made an average of 6.2visits in a 30-day period. The report also shows the amountconsumers spent on products per visit inthe fourth quarter of 2012 increased by 31cents over the last calendar quarter of 2011.This increase may be attributed to a com-bination of inflation and changes in the mixof products as the average number of itemsconsumers purchased has remained steadythroughout 2012 at 3.4 items per visit. Al-

coholic beverages, cigarettes/tobacco, andfresh food had the strongest categorygrowth over last year while lottery ticketsand newspaper, magazines, and books hadthe largest year-over-year decline.

CSP Magazine Highlights SEI’s ‘Foodservice Engine’ In its January 2013 issue, CSP Maga-zine examined SEI’s foodservice expan-sion and how it ties into the company’scurrent acquisition activity. “With higherfood sales a core directive for 7-Eleven,building the most efficient foodservice


Swedish Stores Go Retro-Nostalgic The Swedish arm of 7-Eleven recently underwent a redesign that resurrects elementsfrom the chain’s postwar identity, reported Fast Company. The company hiredStockholm-based BVD for the rebranding task, and the design studio dove into 7-Eleven’s 80-year-old graphic identity for inspiration—embracingand amplifying its most distinctive elements. At the core of theirreimagined brand is the company’s green-and-orange pinstripe pat-tern, which has fallen out of favor with Swedish customers in thepast decade. BVD used the iconic stripes in a new and more modernway, “creating a strong recognizable graphic signal that works in abusy environment.” Alongside the new patterns, BVD also resurrected 7-Eleven’s old type-face. Inside, the 7-Eleven stores are lit by recessed halogen bulbs and decorated with onlya few 7-Eleven logos. BVD also redesigned the kiosk components to include a gigantic“Kaffe” sign done in the distinctive lettering, and turned everything a deep hunter greento make the interiors look warm and busy.

7-Eleven Close To 50,000 Stores Worldwide 7-Eleven, Inc. announced the company has achieved record store growth in2012 and expects the number of 7-Eleven stores worldwide to pass the 50,000-storemark by the end of the first quarter. Already the world's largest retailer by store count,7-Eleven added close to 5,000 stores to its worldwide portfolio in 2012. By year’s end,the company operated, franchised and licensed more than 10,000 stores in NorthAmerica (including Mexico), and over 39,000 7-Eleven stores were in Europe, Aus-tralia and Asia, for a total of approximately 49,500 stores in 16 countries. 7-Elevenand its licensees around the world are subsidiaries of Seven & I Holdings. n

The redesign of Swedish 7-Eleven stores in-cludes turning everything inside a deep huntergreen and using the brand’s iconic stripes in anew and different way.

operation has been paramount for thechain—a formula that calls out for morestores in higher concentrations,” the arti-cle states. “Obtaining that magic numberof stores to support a commissary anddistribution infrastructure could verywell be the No. 1 reason for 7-Eleven'sM&A activity.” To read the article in its entirety, visith t t p : / / www. c s p n e t . c om / n ew s /foodservice/articles/foodservice-engine.

5-hour ENERGY’sDonation ExceedsExpectations Due to the popularityof Pink Lemonade flavor5-hour ENERGY and thesupport of 5-hour ENERGY fans, Liv-ing Essentials, LLC announced that it wasable to donate $387,531.20 to the AvonFoundation for Women Breast CancerCrusade to fund breast cancer researchand access to quality health care. In October 2012, Pink Lemonade fla-vored 5-hour ENERGY was released. Be-

tween October 1 and December 31, 2012,five cents of every bottle of Pink Lemon-ade 5-hour ENERGY sold was donated tothe Avon Foundation for Women BreastCancer Crusade. Unsure of how the newflavor would be received or how con-sumers would respond to the program,Living Essentials said it committed to aminimum donation of $75,000, but hopedthat donation would grow. An advertisingcampaign got the word out across nationalTV, radio and Internet. Response to thenew flavor and its tie-in to a great causegenerated such great demand for PinkLemonade 5-hour ENERGY that two ad-ditional production runs had to be or-dered, the company stated.

Consumers PessimisticAs Gas Prices Rise Consumers are increasingly pes-simistic about the economy and gasprices are a growing reason why, accord-ing to the results from the monthlyNACS Consumer Fuels Survey. Nearlyone quarter (23 percent) of consumers



Pop star Ke$ha recently revealed her completedevotion and love for 7-Eleven to RollingStone Magazine. “7-Eleven makes me reallyhappy. It’s a one-stop shop, it’s open allnight, and the green and red colors make mefeel safe,” she stated in the December 6issue. • Fast-food giant McDonald’s has ex-panded the test run of its Mighty Wings to theChicago area, reported the Associated Press.The chicken wings—which are available inthree-, five- and 10-piece servings—had asuccessful test in Atlanta in 2012. • Walmartplans to offer employment to every veteranseeking work under a program that is ex-pected to hire 100,000 people over fiveyears, the New York Times reported. The pro-gram is set to kick off on Memorial Day, May27. • 7-Eeven is on the National Rifle Associa-tion’s (NRA) list of groups, companies andcelebrities that endorse or support anti-gunpositions, reported Dallas news station CBS-DFW. SEI said it doesn’t have a position onguns and has not been able to get an expla-nation from the NRA as to why it’s on thelist, nor has the company had any luck beingremoved. • AAA has implored the EPA andgasoline retailers to suspend the sale of E15gasoline—which is made of 15 percentethanol and 85 percent gasoline—until it issafer for cars to use. Research shows thatE15 could cause faster engine wear, damageto the fuel system and other problems. •Sales of smoking cessation products are pro-jected to increase 3 percent from 2011-12,reaching $1 billion and they are expected tocontinue growth through 2017 reaching$1.2 billion in sales, according to a report byMintel. • The U.S. Postal Service recentlyopened its 100th village post office (VPO) atthe Linden Food Plaza in Linden, Indiana. Vil-lage Post Offices are operated by communitybusinesses to provide selected postal prod-


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Join The National CoalitionThe strength of an independent trade association lies in its ability to promote, protect andadvance the best interests of its members, something no single member or advisory groupcan achieve. The independent trade association can create a better understanding betweenits members and those with whom it deals. National Coalition offices are located in Tucson, Arizona. All queries and requests for information should be directed to:

National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees3561 East Sunrise Drive, Suite 135Tucson, AZ 85718Office 520-577-8711Fax 520-577-4688E-mail: [email protected]



Recently I received an email from my fieldconsultant explaining that the GEAs will be mak-ing more weekend and night (5-9 p.m.) visits,along with some clarifications on certain cleanli-ness rules. While I’m all for maintaining cleanli-ness—which goes a long way in enhancing theshopping experience of our customers and keepsthem coming back—there’s only so much we cando with stores that haven’t been upgraded in over15 years and look worn and dated. Why shouldthe onus fall on franchisees to make our old storeslook sparkling and more inviting while 7-Elevenacquires and builds new stores, many of which arein close proximity to existing old stores? Inspired, I responded to my field consultant’semail with suggestions of my own to hold SEI ac-countable for maintaining our equipment, build-ings and grounds. For instance, I suggested GEAsshould start looking at our physical plant: theyshould start scoring how old and unwelcomingsome of our 7-Eleven signs are, or on the missingpaint on the walls. Perhaps they should evaluatehow old our cold boxes are, alongwith some shelving forwhich we cannot get parts.How about looking at themany different tiles on ourfloors and how worn theyare? Not to mention thetrash area in the back ofmy store, shouldn’t it havegates? Are the parking lotsdisintegrating and full ofcracks? Perhaps they should evaluate our storesfor fresh food appeal. Maybe we should also start scoring SEI on itsaccounting and RIS systems. What score shouldthe company get when franchisees have to chaseafter every CDC adjustment? Would SEI get a pass-

ing score if our S18s are still factoring recom-mended items and our SIs keep dropping fromour system without notice? How should our time-consuming ordering system be ranked? Is it up topar compared to our competition? While we’re at it, let’s have the GEAs take alook at the Asset Protection Department. Whatscore would they get for penalizing franchiseesfor every imagined loss in our store? Would theypass on that criterion? Since they’re going to be spending moretime in our stores, perhaps the GEAs could eval-uate SEI on their monthly promotions. How cor-rect were they? Did they post on time? Did thePOP match correctly with our promotions? I am truly sorry for being so negative, and Iam not talking about all the stores in the sys-tem, but at the end of the day, franchiseesshould not be asked to spend good money keep-ing worn out stores clean for our customers be-yond our budget—the same way we are unable

to force SEI to spend money onour existing stores beyond theirbudget—especially when somestores already look old and out-dated to our customers.

Franchisees have enough toworry about in the daily opera-tion of our stores without havingto sweat over the GEA scoresthat in many cases lead to LONsand breaches. The fact of thematter is that SEI might itself re-

ceive LONs and breaches if it was held up to thesame scrutiny as franchisees. This is my opinion and I welcome yours.

CLEANLINESS IS A TWO-WAY STREETBy Serge Haitayan, President, Sierra FOA

SERGE HAITYAN can be reached at 559-355-4899 or [email protected]

surveyed in a national poll of gasolinepurchasers are “very pessimistic” aboutthe economy, a significant increasefrom the 18 percent who said that theywere very pessimistic in NACS’ Janu-ary consumer poll. Consumers age 50or older were the most pessimistic (27percent), while those age 18 to 34 (16percent) were the least pessimistic.Overall, 59 percent said they were ei-ther “very pessimistic” or “somewhatpessimistic,” a jump from the 54 per-cent who said that they were pes-simistic in January. Gas prices, which have steadilyclimbed since the beginning of theyear, are clearly top of mind with con-sumers. Nearly half of all consumers(44 percent) surveyed now say that gasprices have a “great impact” in howthey feel about the economy, a signifi-cant increase from the 38 percent whofelt that way in January. Overall, 87percent of consumers say that gasprices have an impact on their feelingsabout the economy.

Wawa & QuikTripJoin MCX Mobile Wallet C-store chains Wawa and QuikTriphave joined 7-Eleven, Alon, Shell andSunoco in the Merchant Customer Ex-change (MCX) mobile wallet initiative,according to The Steil Report. MCX’smerchant owners now include seven ofthe 14 largest merchants by sales, and 19of the top 100, according to the NRF’sSTORES magazine ranking. This groupof retailers processes more than $1 tril-lion in payments annually and operatesmore than 75,000 stores.


add a 50 percent penalty on those who fail to pay the tax, getthe necessary state permit and file regular reports. It would alsoexpose business owners to a criminal, Class C misdemeanorcharge if they fail to pay.

Bill Filed To Allow OnlineLottery In Florida

A Florida senator has introduced a billthat would allow lottery tickets to be soldonline, reported Florida’s WTXL ABC-27.Senate Bill 266 would give the Departmentof the Lottery the right to create and ad-

minister a program that provides for the sale of lottery tickets on-line, without using an online lottery retailer. Customers would be

able to buy a ticket "via a subscription mechanism," accord-ing to the bill. The department would also be able to create therules governing the online sales. If passed, the Florida bill wouldgo into effect on July 1, 2013.

Chicago Alderman Proposes Ban OnHigh-Caffeine Energy Drinks

If a Chicago alderman gets his way, the citywould ban the sale and distribution of high-caffeine energy drinks to consumers of all

ages, reported the Chicago Sun-

Times. Ald. Edward M. Burke, chairman of the City Council’s Fi-nance Committee, proposed the ban, citing the popularity ofdrinks such as Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and 5 Hour Energyamong teenagers and young adults and the dangers those drinkscan pose to their health. Burke’s ban, however, would still allowRed Bull to be sold, since his measure would generally targethigher-caffeine drinks. Some of the others could still be available,but not in their larger sizes or more potent concentrations. Viola-tors would face fines ranging from $100-to-$500 for each of-fense, and retailers who repeatedly violate the citywide ban couldhave their business licenses suspended or revoked. In response, the beverage industry has hired a pair of heavy-hitting lobbyists to try to kill the proposed measure. Victor Reyes,the former Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO) chieftainwho once served as former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s politicalenforcer, is representing the American Beverage Association. For-mer State Representative Sam Panayotovich is lobbying the CityCouncil on behalf of 7-Eleven.

Illinois Bill To Ban Energy Drink Sales To Kids Illinois State Representative Laura Fine recently introduced legisla-tion to ban the sale of energy drinks to anyone under 18 years old,EvanstonNow.com reported. The measure targets energy drinks like 5-Hour Energy, Monster and Red Bull. Fine said studies have linkedhealth problems—such as seizures, high blood pressure, irregular

continued from page 18Legislative Update



NY First In Smuggled Cigs New York State sells more bootleggedcigarettes than any state, with 60.9 percentof the cigarettes sold transported into itsborders improperly, reported Reuters.Cigarettes can be bootlegged by bringingin lower-priced packs from other states,counterfeiting state tax stamps, hijackingtrucks or bribing officials to ignore illegalshipments. New York has higher tobaccotaxes than any other state, at $4.35 perpack, which does not include a local New

York City tax of $1.50 per pack.

Shoppers Poised ToExpand Beyond the Store A new IBM study found that con-sumers are diversifying the way they shopfor and acquire goods, becoming increas-ingly open to buying both online and in-store depending on their needs at time ofpurchase. While more than 80 percent ofshoppers chose the store to make their lastnon-grocery purchase, only half are com-mitted to returning there the next time

they buy. IBM's research also found thatconsumers are in a transitional state. Ac-cording to the study, 35 percent are un-sure whether they would next shop at astore or online.

Popularity Of 'Walk-In'Retail Health Clinics Grows The popularity of "walk-in" medicalclinics located in pharmacies, superstoresand workplaces nationwide is increasingrapidly, a new Harris Interactive/Health-Day poll finds. Twenty-seven percent of




What Is The National Coalition’s Role?BY BRUCE MAPLESEXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, NCASEF

The National Coalition bylaws, exceptfor a few minor adjustments years ago, are thesame bylaws developed in 1980, the Coali-tion’s sixth year, under the leadership of thenchairman Bill Schuessler. In 1980, 7-Elevenwas in the middle of a growth phase and wasbuilding some 300 stores a year, which theydid for 20 years beginning in 1968. It was atime of growth, rapid expansion and oppor-tunity for both franchisees and the Thomp-son Brothers, owners of the company. Thirty-two years later, a reading of thebylaws shows that those early franchisees wereincredibly insightful in stating the group’s ob-jectives. Our bylaws mention three main ob-jectives and purposes of the NationalCoalition: 1) to maintain research and educa-tional programs; 2) to promote, develop andassist 7-Eleven convenience store franchiseesin organizing and maintaining effective re-gional trade associations; and 3) to commu-nicate with 7-Eleven, Inc., and the variousregional trade associations and coordinatetheir efforts for the attainment of a social andeconomic framework which will enhanceconvenience store franchising, serve the pub-lic, and provide fairness and justice for the 7-Eleven convenience store franchisee. After all this time, I am amazed by howrelevant those words are, especially whenfranchising, the convenience store industry,and 7-Eleven itself have experienced somuch growth, change and innovation. Today the National Coalition is an asso-ciation, not a union or an industry trade or-ganization, and we have no contractualrelationship with 7-Eleven, Inc. We represent

franchisees only at therequest of our mem-bers, and we find ourstrength in numbers.The more franchiseesjoin regional FOA

groups, the larger the National Coalitiongrows. Today we have 39 regional FOAs, andover the next several years, due to 7-Eleven’sexpansion, we could have 50 franchise ownersassociations representing approximately 83percent of the franchisees in the U.S. According to our bylaws, the role of ourlocal FOA leadership is to have dialog andaddress local issues with local managementand represent franchisees in their local area.If there is a merchandising issue in a partic-ular area, the FOA president in that areashould have a relationship with the local SEImerchandising manager and address the factthat the areas does not have the right sand-wich selection. By contrast, The National

Coalition’s role is to make sure that 7-Eleven’sfresh food program overall meets the needsof franchisees. When you drill down to the local level,it makes sense for the local FOA to get in-volved. We can say in Philadelphia we needa Philly cheese steak program, because thatis the dominant sandwich in the area. InChicago we can say the hot dog programshould center on Vienna hot dogs and poppy

seed buns, which make a Chicago-style dog.In this way, the local FOAs can work with thelocal management team to get the productassortment right for that area and addresslocal issues, with local management. The National Coalition’s job is to makesure that we are communicating with senior7-Eleven management on universal and con-tractual issues like encroach-ment, BT, cleanlinessand overage packages—the issues that affect

all the franchisees in the country. In every Na-tional Coalition Board meeting, franchiseeleaders look at trends, report on issues in theirareas, and trade information on what is hap-pening with franchisees around the country.The CDC flat fee is a good example of this.The flat fee was a national issue that FOAleaders brought to the National Coalition andthe National Coalition took to 7-Eleven. We

“Thirty-four years after thewriting of the National

Coalition’s bylaws, I am amazedby how relevant those words

are, especially when franchising, the conveniencestore industry, and 7-Eleven itself have experienced so

much growth and innovation.”

BRUCE MAPLES CAN BE REACHED AT

[email protected]


“The National Coalition’s job is to make sure that we are communicating with 7-Eleven senior management on universal and contractual issues.”

ended up getting the flat fee removed forevery franchisee in the country. Getting thepricing right and the product selection rightin the local CDC still is the role of the localFOA, but the National Coalition provides aforum to discuss this on a national level. BT is another example of how the Na-tional Coalition works on issues. BT wasrolled out in Southern California, reported onin multiple National Coalition Board meet-ings, then followed up on in over a dozenmeetings at the local level in Southern Cali-fornia that included National Coalition offi-cers and FOA leadership. We then took theissue to SEI, delivered the franchisee feedbackon BT, and we affected the hybrid model cur-rently deployed in Florida and Texas. Part of role of the National Coalition isto give the franchisee message to 7-Elevenin a clear, concise way that SEI understands.Over the past three years, we have tried todo this with solution-based feedback. Wedon’t like the way BT works, but here is thesolution that we think works. In the discus-sions we had with 7-Eleven about the BTprogram rolled out in Southern California,franchisees had concerns about their inabil-ity to source non-recommended items fromDSD vendors. Franchisees wanted to con-tinue to use Retailer Initiative to provideguests with the items they want, so we askedfor a BT system that uses the vendors cur-rently delivering to the stores. The SouthernCalifornia BT model and the hybrid are cur-rently under review by 7-Eleven and ourvendor partners to in an attempt to betterunderstand the best solution for our stores.

Over the last 37 years, the NationalCoalition’s convention and trade show hasevolved to support our goals of educationand the exchange of franchisee informa-tion. Our convention is all about business,community, family and building a sense ofcamaraderie among our members. It is agreat opportunity for franchisees to sharecommon ideas, goals and interests, and theexperience of what it is like to be a 7-Elevenfranchisee. At the 2012 convention inHawaii we had a fireworks display to cele-brate 7-Eleven’s birthday, but the best thingabout it was that we could all share in thatexperience together. Franchisees have thatcommon bond. The National Coalition’s conventionand other activities also give our valued ven-dors a chance to connect with the peoplewho are making the merchandising andbuying decisions that can affect their salesand profits. To any vendor selling to fran-chisees, the most critical person is the fran-chisee. Thousands of buying decisions aremade every day in stores throughout the sys-tem. It is only when the person with theMOT in their hand makes the “carry” or“non-carried” decisions that the product as-sortment ends up in the store. For 38 years the National Coalition hasbeen there for the franchisee community,and our bylaws still hold true today. We areserving the same purpose as Bill Schusslerand his colleagues. Our biggest asset is ourmembership base, because regardless ofwhere we are in the country, we are all fran-chisees, and there is STRENGTH IN NUM-BERS. If franchisees rally around a commonissue, we DO make a difference. At the National Coalition we wantevery franchisee to feel good, every day,about what we do. We want to build securitythrough the exchange of information aboutour businesses and we want to work with 7-Eleven to build our sales and profits. If oursuccess is really a balance of co-prosperity,7-Eleven and franchise community mustwork more closely to ensure the long-termhealth of the franchise system.


What Is The National Coalition’s Role?“The role of our local FOAleadership is to have dialogand address local issueswith local management andrepresent franchisees intheir local areas.”

ucts and services, in-cluding Forever stamps,Priority Mail Flat Rate packages and en-velopes and Post Office Boxes. The PostalService began opening VPOs in 2011 in loca-tions like libraries and c-stores as a way toserve rural communities across the country. •Eighty percent of U.S. grocery shoppers wantaccess to electronic coupons, but only 35 per-cent of U.S. grocery retailers offer electroniccoupons, according to a new global study ofshoppers and retailers by NCR Corporation. •General Mills has negotiated an agreementwith the Center for Science in the Public Inter-est to remove strawberry imagery and list thepercentage of fruit content on its StrawberryNaturally Flavored Fruit Roll Ups, reportedBakeryAndSnacks.com. The settlement camein light of a class action lawsuit that allegedpackaging stating “made with real fruit” anddepicting strawberries incorrectly described theingredients in the strawberry flavored productmade with “pears from concentrate.” •Coca-Cola recently introduced its FreestyleMobile App, which helps consumers findCoca-Cola Freestyle dispensers. PUSH! +Play—which also helps people interact with100+ Coca-Cola brands—is available free inthe iTunes App Store and through GooglePlay. • Sears.com and Kmart.com sold enoughslow cookers during the holidays that if usedsimultaneously they could produce 921 gal-lons of chili in 3 hours. • An ad for electroniccigarette NJOY Kings that aired on TV in De-cember was the first smoking ad to run sincecigarette advertising on TV and radio wasbanned on January 1, 1971, reported Timemagazine. • Pennsylvania-based c-storechain Wawa plans to add bread ovens to itsstores in order to offer fresh baked rolls.Wawa’s new CEO said he wants the chain’sfood service to be seen as fast casual like FiveGuys, Chipotle or Panera, rather than fastfood. • McDonald’s pushed its franchisees toremain open on Christmas after restaurantsthat stayed open on Thanksgiving experienceda robust sales increase, reported AdvertisingAge. The fast-food giant normally allows indi-vidual branches to observe a holiday on spe-cial occasions. • Diebold Inc. recently unveileda new ATM that interacts di-rectly with smartphones—no ATM



No matter the industry, the businessenvironment is always in flux. Companiesthat become too comfortable with theirpositions in an industry and rest upontheir laurels soon find themselves strug-gling to catch up with the changing timesand the changing needs of their cus-tomers, and before long they’re out ofbusiness. Just look at what happened toXerox, IBM, and Kodak. In order to become an industry leaderand remain on top, companies must evolveand adjust to the times. 7-Eleven has al-ways been a leader within the conveniencestore channel mainly because it is an inno-vator and has been able to quickly adapt tothe shifting retail landscape and the chang-ing needs of our customers. From a fran-chisee’s perspective, I feel pretty good thatour company is proactive rather than re-

active, and that 7-Eleven has its finger onthe pulse of the retail market and is able toeffectively forecast and adjust to changes. One of the ways 7-Eleven is adjustingis by devoting considerable resources tofind out more about our customers.Through extensive research we are learn-ing how people shop, what they expect,what they react to, what gets their atten-tion, and then we gear our marketing and

our merchandisingtoward that, which isvery innovative. Thisallows us to betterserve our customers’

needs so they will come shop in our storesbecause we have more of what they want. Take the increasing use of smartphones, for instance. These days, con-sumers are very technologically sophisti-cated and use their smart phones toquickly compare prices and deals whileshopping. Given the current weak econ-

omy and rising gas prices,consumers are feeling thesqueeze and are very carefulabout where they shop andwhat they buy. To appeal to these cus-tomers, 7-Eleven developed a smart phoneapp that informs them of our special pro-motions, provides coupons, and even hasa store locator. I think this is a great stepforward, and we should absolutely encour-age our customers to download the app. Another service that 7-Eleven is nowoffering in select test markets that defi-nitely has the potential to attract more foottraffic is the Amazon Lockers program.

Essentially, stores are being outfitted withlockers that customers can use to have theitems they purchase on Amazon.comshipped to instead of their homes. Then,on their way home from work or wherever,they stop by their local 7-Eleven to pick upthe package. I believe this service will golong way in helping us attract new—andmore importantly, loyal—customers, espe-cially those with busy lifestyles that are al-

ways on the go.SEI’s research into the

changing needs of our cus-tomers has also found that,although they are moreprice sensitive and are seek-ing more deals because of the

tight financial times, they moreoften prefer to spend a little more

to get that premium product. This is espe-cially true when it comes to foodserviceitems. Right now, foodservice is the high-est potential growth category—generating$640 billion in sales compared to $40 bil-lion for cigarettes, which we have long re-lied on for incremental sales. Armed withthis knowledge, 7-Eleven has been chang-ing its approach to foodservice for the last

7-Eleven’s Evolving Strategy Keeps Us Ahead Of The Game BY JIVTESH GILLEXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN, NCASEF

“7-Eleven has always been aleader in the c-store channel

because it is an innovatorand has been able to quickly

adapt to the shifting retaillandscape and the changing

needs of our customers.”

“Right now, foodservice is the highest potential growth category—generating $640 billion in sales compared to $40 billion for cigarettes, which we have long relied on for incremental sales.”

JIVTESH GILL CAN BE REACHED AT

[email protected]



Sell 29 times more in dollar sales when you stock Duracellthan when you stock only 7-Select Private Label!

several years to emphasize morehigh-quality fresh and hot food itemspriced competitively. Part of this plan involves devel-oping a distribution strategy to getmore fresh foods into our storesquicker, and this includes expandinginto more densely populated citiesand towns. With this in mind, SEI hasspent the last several years building asignificant number of new stores andacquiring smaller chains. In the lastyear alone, our company has added961 new stores to its roster—over 330more than it had originally planned.The stores range from regular, stand-alone buildings to smaller urban lo-cations, all to support a more efficientdistribution strategy.

In the end, it comes down tohow well a company can keep upwith the changing times and market.So far, 7-Eleven’s evolving strategieshave gotten us through the recessionand the weak economy, and I amconfident they will keep us ahead ofthe game.

“Armed with research data,7-Eleven has been changingits approach to foodserviceto emphasize high qualityfresh and hot food itemspriced competitively.”

7-Eleven’s Evolving Strategy Keeps Us Ahead Of The Gamecards required, reported the PlainDealer. • Almost half of Americans(48 percent) indicate they are living paycheck to pay-check today, according to a new survey by online lenderNetCredit.com. • Recreational marijuana users in Col-orado and Washington state will soon be able to get theirpot out of vending machines, reported NBC News. Med-box, a company that produces medical marijuana vendingmachines, is currently working to adapt the machines tocomply with the states’ new laws, which allow adults tolegally use marijuana for recreation. • Canadian c-storechain Couche-Tard announced that it has signed,through its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary Mac'sConvenience Stores LLC, an agreement to acquire 29Mac’s stores—25 in Illinois, three in Missouri and one inOklahoma. • Dunkin’ Donuts plans to open about 150stores in Southern California beginning in 2015, the LosAngeles Times reported. The donut chain—whichopened 291 stores across the U.S. in 2012—also plansto open as many as 360 new outlets this year nation-


continued from page 32continued from page 35


It has been a very long time since Ihave written an article in which I de-scribed your rights under the survivorshipprovisions contained in every store agree-ment in Exhibit F. The rights given to youin these provisions are extremely impor-tant but, from my experience, all too fewstoreowners are aware of its significance,or some are not even aware of its existenceor simply forgot there was such a thing. SoI think it’s time for a review. Frequently, the equity and goodwillvalue of one or more stores is one of thelargest, if not the largest, asset that a fran-chisee owns—or possibly second only to thefranchisee’s interest in his or her home. It isfor this reason that the survivorship provi-sions should be clearly understood, that thedesignees should be carefully chosen, andthat your choices be reviewed on a periodicbasis as your circumstances change. Essentially, the survivorship provi-sions give you the opportunity to appointup to three (3) individuals—in order ofpreference—that you would want to as-sume ownership of the store in the eventof your death, or if you own the storejointly (one or more individuals or share-holders in the corporation that owns thestore) upon the death of all joint owners. Before I give you a summary of thesurvivorship right provisions and theprocesses that occur if the right is ever ex-ercised, it is important that every fran-chisee understand that the designation ofa survivor to your ownership in the storeis only one part of an overall estate planthat, at a minimum, should include a Will,a Power of Attorney, a Health Care Proxy

and a Living Will (adirection to yourdoctors if you can-not live without ar-tificial means, i.e.

feeding tube, respirator). In the context ofaccomplishing your wishes as to whoshould survive to your interests in thestore, a Last Will and Testament is themost important and, indeed, essentialpart of your estate plan. In every state, there are laws that dic-tate who will be the beneficiary of your es-tate in the event that you die without aWill. The only possible exception are as-sets for which you can legally designate abeneficiary upon your death, such as IRAs,401Ks, joint bank accounts, insurance

policies, and bank or investment accountswhich contain a “Transfer on Death”(TOD) designation. All other assets, andmost certainly the survivor interest in yourstore, will be inherited by the person orpersons that the laws in your state direct—usually starting with a spouse and childrenin certain proportions. If you have a Will, however, youshould and must designate the same per-sons, in the same order of priority, as youdo in the store agreement as the survivors

to your franchise interests. If you do not,and simply provide “I leave everything tomy husband/wife,” the Will will trump thecontract designation and your wishes maywell be thwarted. You may think that yourbrother, or kid, or long time employee willsucceed to your right to the store, only forthat intended beneficiary to be faced witha challenge by another person named inyour Will as a general beneficiary or, if noWill, by the person who is entitled to yourestate pursuant to state law. Keep in mind also that all states givecertain rights to a spouse who can chal-lenge provisions in your Will that deprive

him or her of minimum inheritance rightsin your estate. I cannot emphasize enoughthe importance of having your Will and re-lated documents discussed with, and pre-pared by, a qualified estate attorney. Now, how does it work? Upon the trig-gering of the survivorship rights, SEI will at-tempt to locate your first designatedindividual and, if he or she is subsequentlyfound and qualified by SEI, that is the endof the process. If that person cannot be lo-

Survivorship Agreement:What You Must Know

ARNOLD J.HAUPTMAN CAN BE REACHED AT

516-541-7200

BY ARNOLD J. HAUPTMAN, ESQ.NCASEF GENERAL COUNSEL

“In the context of accomplishingyour wishes as to who shouldsurvive to your interests in thestore, a Last Will and Testamentis the most important and es-sential part of your estate plan.”

“If you have a Will, you must designate the same persons, inthe same order of priority, as you do in the store agreementas the survivors to your franchise interests.”


(7-Eleven charge) from those in youragreement until its expiration. For sure, the survivorship benefits inyour store agreement are valuable, but thelanguage leaves a lot to be desired from apractical point because the time limita-tions are far too short. We all know thatthirty (30) days for your estate to sell yourstore and have the buyers approved, orhave your beneficiary located, qualified,and up and running a 7-Eleven store isjust impossible given the snail’s pace ofSEI when accomplishing these tasks. Also,probating your Will—or if there is no Willto have an executor appointed, having anadministrator appointed—can, in manystates, take one hundred and twenty (120)days or more, and the appointment of ei-ther one of those representatives is neces-sary before the store can be transferred toa buyer or to your designees. The survivorship provisions, unfor-

tunately, do not address these time re-straints and contingencies, or the possi-

bility of Willcontests or otherimpediments topermit your es-tate representa-tive to actquickly. Giventhese potential

problems, one can only hope that SEI willwork with your estate to extend the peri-ods of time allotted for a reasonable pe-riod in order to effectuate your wishesand the purpose of the contractual sur-vivor benefits afforded to you. I know that thinking about impor-tant necessities like having a Will pre-pared or buying life insurance, ordesignating survivors to your interestsin one or more of your stores are just notpleasant tasks, but they are essential—soget to it.

cated or does not qualify, in SEI’s sole dis-cretion, then SEI will go on to the next de-signee and so on. On the acceptance andqualification of a designee by SEI, your es-tate must then waive any right to sell thestore’s goodwill. Obviously, it is importantto discuss with your designees whether ornot he or she would even want to succeedto your interest, and you would also wantto be satisfied that every one of your de-signees could pass the qualification process. Additionally, SEI will operate the

store for the benefit of the franchisee’s es-tate until the earlier of thirty (30) days, thesale of the goodwill by your estate, or uponthe effective date of a new store agreementbetween SEI and the accepted designee.During the first thirty (30) day periodafter death SEI will not, during the periodof its operation, charge for an inventoryvariation, or payroll (including draw) inexcess of that incurred during the priorthree (3) months. If the store is not sold,or if no designee wishes to assume the op-eration of the store, SEI will continue tooperate the store, for its benefit, for an ad-ditional ninety (90) days, to give your es-tate a further opportunity to sell thefranchise. Importantly, if one of your de-signees does want the store and does passthe qualification process, the then currentcontract will have to be signed, but nofranchise fee will be imposed and therewill be no change in the financial terms

Survivorship Agreement-What You Must Know

“If one of your designees doeswant the store and does passthe qualification process, thethen current contract will haveto be signed, but no franchisefee will be imposed.”

wide. • Fast-foodchain Wendy’s has sus-pended expansion of its breakfast test forthree years, reported BurgerBusiness.com.According to the article, Wendy’s took a$14.6 million hit for scrapping breakfastequipment at underperforming restaurants.• The Midwest Division of Circle K recentlyselected the Wakefield Sandwich Co. as themanufacturer of its proprietary Fresh Sand-wiches line, reported CSNews Online. • Inresponse to rival Target Corp.’s expansioninto the Canadian market, Walmart isspending $453 million to build new outletsand renovate its stores in Canada, reportedBloomberg. The plan includes adding fullgrocery sections to all of its Canadian loca-tions. • Donut chain Krispy Kreme openedits first franchise location in India on January19, and has plans to open 80 more overfive years in the South and West regions ofthe country. • Discount chain Dollar General

recently announced plans to open 635 newstores and relocate 550 stores in 2013. Thecompany also said it is on track to open its11,000th U.S. store before the end of theyear, in time to celebrate its 75th anniver-sary.• According to a study by ExperianMarketing Services, the Top 10 Retailers dur-ing the holiday as measured by website visitsand searches were Amazon.com, Walmart,Target, Best Buy, JC Penney, Sears, Macy's,Kohl's, Toys R Us, and QVC.com, in that

order. • Mc-Donald's un-

veiled plans to launch new packaging designsincorporating QR (quick response) codes thatwill make nutrition information accessiblefrom mobile devices, reported the WallStreet Journal. • The latest research byMintel reveals that sales of craft beer in theU.S. nearly doubled between 2007 and2012—increasing from $5.7 billion in 2007to $12 billion in 2012. Moreover, Mintelforecasts the segment to grow to $18 bil-


continued on page 45continued next page

continued from previous pagecontinued from page 39


Communication is the core of all re-lationships. The speed and velocity ofchange in communication and communi-cation technology since the beginning ofthe millennium has been breathtaking.The term “revolution” often feels like anunderstatement. We are now continuouslybombarded with text messages, emails,tweets, and voice mails ad infinitum.

While the methodology of commu-nication has improved, I feel the effec-tiveness of communication has notchanged as much. Perhaps it has not im-proved at all. I see emails sent with a re-

sponse never given, phone calls madeand never returned, and worse—endless,mindless tweets and texts, distractingboth sender and receiver. Unfortunately, the progress made incommunication technology seems tohave made the art of communication lessthoughtful and more adversarial. Dialog,instead of being a two-way discussion,has become a diatribe wrapped in amonologue. This dilemma occurs withmany companies, government agenciesand even among colleagues, and it weak-ens relationships. Therefore, here is my request for2013—or if you prefer, a challenge for allof us franchisees, SEI folks and our ven-dor partners: Let us develop communi-cation etiquette. There is nothing morefrustrating when an email, text, voicemail or another form of communicationgoes unanswered or ignored. I see com-munication as a core ingredient to build,develop and enhance any relationship,personal or business. Just as in any rela-tionship, we have needs, which are:• Clear communication with details• Listening intently• Following up on a request• Returning phone calls When I receive a request or question,I may not have an answer immediately, butI will always reply that I will get back to

them once I do. I personally feel that if I donot respond to a request, I am showingtotal disrespect for the relationship. A re-sponse is not answering their request, it isjust an acknowledgment that your are

working on getting them the informationthey need. All of this can be bundled under theServant Leadership model. While somestill question the effectiveness of ServantLeadership, I can personally attest that ifimplemented enthusiastically and hon-estly, the results are amazing and real—it works! There are some folks in oursystem that still talk the talk about Ser-

vant Leadership, yet have not fully em-braced it or begun to walk the walk! In this New Year if each franchisee,vendor partner and SEI employee resolvesto treat each communication we receive asvitally as we welcome a customer cominginto our stores, then we will all prosper2013. “In order forchange to takeplace, first I mustchange.” I wouldlove to hear yourthoughts.

COMMUNICATION + RELATIONSHIP +OPPORTUNITIES = SUCCESSBY JAS DHILLONVICE CHAIRMAN, NCASEF, VICE PRESIDENT, FOA GREATER LA

Vice Chairs’Forum

“While the method-ology of communication

has improved, the effectiveness of

communication has notchanged as much.”

lion by 2017—a three-fold jump in the decade

between 2007 and 2017. • A new study bythe Center for College Affordability andProductivity reveals that a college degreetends to result in both higher pay and lowerunemployment. The jobless rate is currently3.9 percent for workers with a college de-gree or higher, versus 8 percent for high-school grads and 11.7 percent for peoplewithout a high school diploma. • Bud-weiser recently launched its first-ever Twitteraccount—twitter.com/Budweiser—andmarked the occasion by tweeting the firstphoto of a member of the elite “BudweiserClydesdales Class of 2013,” a 150-poundbaby horse born the morning of January16. • Pennsylvania-based c-store chainWawa celebrated a social media milestonewhen it reached one million “likes” on Face-book on January 28. • Nearly 44 percent ofAmericans are one crisis and less than 90days from poverty, according to the 2013Assets & Opportunities Scorecard, the lead-ing source for data on household financialsecurity and policy solutions. • Couche-Tardis planning to franchise an undisclosed num-ber of its c-stores in Quebec in order tofend off organized labor from unionizing itsstores, reported the Financial Post. • ThePostal Service plans to drop Saturday deliveryof first-class mail by August in its latest ef-fort to cut costs after losing nearly $16 bil-lion last fiscal year, reported Reuters. The



“If we resolve to treat communications as vitally as we welcome a customer into our store, we all will prosper.”

JAS DHILLONCAN BE REACHED AT

818-571-1711 or

[email protected]

Retailers Taking a BalancedApproach With Beer AreOutperforming The Market94 Percent Of The Time While the beer category’s performancein 2012 was partially driven by innovationssuch as the top new beer brands of the year,Bud Light Platinum and Bud Light LimeLime-A-Rita, retailer execution also made abig difference, with more and more retailerspaying close attention to what they featureand what is moving in their markets. Beer SKUs are growing at a rapid rate,leaving retailers to decide which ones willdrive sales in stores with limited space. Earlyin 2012, Anheuser-Busch hired an inde-pendent research firm to find out what re-tailers could do to be the mostsuccessful with beer. From astudy of 125 grocery stores andgrocery chains, the study grewto more than 330 grocery,convenience stores and drugstores in markets nation-wide. Throughout the year,and as the study has grown,the results have remainedthe same—the most suc-cessful retailers use a bal-anced approach to stockingbeer. In fact, retailers usinga balanced approach outsellthe rest of the market 94 per-cent of the time, and for the portion out-selling the market, revenues average 10percent higher. A balanced approach means not sacrific-ing premium beer or craft beer sales. Retailersthat are winning are effectively managing

their inventories. They know their competi-tion and understand their shoppers. They un-derstand it’s about having the right brand mixfor their customers and are focused on thoseitems that are driving incremental sales—notjust more variety of brands. They are increas-ing investment and space behind premiumbeer because it is the driver to get consumersinto their stores and comprises 55 percent ofthe beer category, according to the latest Sym-phony IRI data, with the average premiumSKU generating $60 million and the averagecraft SKU generating $20 million. At the same time, winning retailers arecapturing opportunities in craft by stockingthe brands that are selling in their stores.About 6 percent of craft SKUs represent 80percent of the dollar volume in the craft seg-ment, and for many craft brands the topfour SKUs deliver 90 percent of the volume.By stocking these top SKUs, retailers can at-tract craft shoppers, capture growth and thehigh margins of craft, while leaving room

for the premium and valuefeatures and promotions thatdrive foot traffic.

“Premium shoppers arespending 25 percent of their

dollars on above-premiums—craft, pre-mium and specialty—while craft shoppersare spending 25 percent of their dollars onpremium,” said CJ Watson, Anheuser-Buschdirector of NRS planning. “A retailer in bal-ance can capture the craft drinker’s pre-mium dollars and vice versa.”

And it’s working. In stores that arepracticing a balanced approach, not only isrevenue up by an average of 10 percent, craftvolume is up by 14 percent.

Now the study of nationwide markets ismoving into a second phase, gaining evenmore perspective on the way consumersshop once they are in the store and helpingretailers make the best use of every inch ofspace in their stores. For instance, like wine, many crafts aretypically taken home to be consumed at a

Vendor Guest Column


By Anheuser-BuschSales & Marketing

“Early in 2012, Anheuser-Busch hired an inde-

pendent research firm to find out what retailers

could do to be the most successful with beer.”

Using The Balanced PortfolioApproach At Retail


“Premium beer,comprising 55 percent of the beercategory, is thedriver to get consumers intostores.”

later time. Since these items are not typi-cally consumed immediately, retailers cansave their cold space for high-volumeitems, while maintaining their craft portfo-lio. They can also use warm shelf space topilot new items and see how they perform. Additionally, research shows retailersare often offering discounts on some items,but not seeing an uptick in sales. Conse-quently, they are losing revenue. A-B willsoon be able to offer recommendations toretailers on what promotions will drive sales. With both premium and value brandsgrowing in revenue according to Sym-phony IRI data, retailers using a balancedapproach are in the best position to har-ness new opportunities as we begin 2013.They are able to attract craft, premium,value and specialty shoppers. They are ableto pilot new brands and capture growthwhen those brands perform well, but they

are also careful not to replace an item thatsells several six packs a week with an itemthat sells less than one. With the success ofretailers, the entire beer category can con-tinue to grow.

—Anheuser-Busch Sales and Marketing

Postal Service said itwill still deliver pack-ages six days a week and will not changepost office operating hours. • Burger Kingrecently unveiled its revamped coffee plat-form, blended by Seattle’s Best Coffee andfeaturing a 100 percent Latin Americanarabica bean custom blend. Customers cannow opt for hot or iced coffee in a varietyof flavors like vanilla, mocha and caramel.• Billionaire Warren Buffett recently acquiredthe H.J. Heinz Co. for $23.3 billion via hisinvestment firm, Berkshire Hathaway. • The2013 Identity Fraud Report by Javelin Strat-egy & Research reveals there were 12.6 mil-lion victims of identity fraud in the U.S. in2012—one million more than in the previ-ous year. The study also found that fraud-sters stole more than $21 billion in 2012,the highest amount since 2009. • DuringSuper Bowl XLVII, companies engaged infranchising outspent all other combined en-terprises by an estimated record $56 mil-lion dollars, revealed the AmericanAssociation of Franchisees and Dealers. Inall, 74 percent (91 ads) of some 123 adsthat aired during the 4-hour game broad-cast came from businesses engaged infranchising. • Moviegoers can now use theSiri feature on their iPhones and iPads topurchase movie tickets through Fandango.When users ask Siri to find a specific movie,nearby theaters or desired show times, Sirinow offers the option to "Buy Tickets" andlaunches the Fandango app. • The numberone reason people choose to shop either in-person or online is convenience, and notprice, according to the results of a new sur-vey by Continuum, a global design and in-novation consultancy. • The Center forScience in the Public Interest recently filed apetition with the FDA urging the agency toidentify a safe level for added sugars in bev-erages, reported USA Today. The groupclaims a diet high in high-fructose cornsyrup and added sugars is linked to an in-creased risk of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, heartdisease, gout and tooth decay. • Canada hasofficially eliminated the penny, reported theNational Post. The Royal Canadian Mint ispresently in the years-long process of col-lecting and melting down 35 billion pennies,while businesses have started to roundcash transactions to the nearest five-cent




Vendor Guest Columncontinued from page 47

“In stores that are practicing a balanced approach,revenue is up by an average of 10 percent, andcraft volume is up by 14 percent.”

“Retailers using a bal-

anced approach outsell

the rest of the market

94 percent of the time,

and for the portion out-

selling the market, rev-

enues average 10

percent higher.”

Mr. Khan Goes ToWashington Southern California 7-Eleven franchiseeAndy Khan recently had an opportunity topersonally congratulate President BarackObama on his second term in office during arecent visit to the nation’s capital. Andy was

invited to the White House Christmas Dinneron December 18, 2012, where he met withthe President and First Lady as they wel-comed their friends and supporters. In 2011,Andy was presented the President's VolunteerService Award from President Obama for or-ganizing a local “Say No To Drugs” programfor junior high and high school students, aswell for his work with “Every 15 Minutes,” atwo-day program that challenges high schooljuniors and seniors to think about drinking,driving, personal safety, and the responsibilityof making mature decisions. Andy was also invited to the PresidentialInauguration and Presidential Inaugural Ballon January 21, 2013, where he met peoplefrom all walks of life—from Hollywoodcelebrities to everyday 7-Eleven customers.Andy said he even had the chance to tellPresident Obama about 7-Eleven's coffee cuppromotion declaring Obama the choice of 7-Eleven coffee drinkers.

FOAGLA franchisee Andy Khan with President BarackObama during the White House Christmas Dinnerlast December.


“ Attrition warfare” is defined as “a militarystrategy in which a belligerent side attempts towin a war by wearing down its enemy to thepoint of collapse through continuous losses inpersonnel and materiel.” This is precisely whatconvenience stores can expect on the legislativefront as we move into 2013 and 2014. Last fall, the so-called “food movement” lostseveral important ballot initiatives in California,including an attempt to increase soda taxes in ElMonte and Richmond in the name of fightingobesity. Those losses, however, did not deter themovement’s backers. On the contrary, they were

emboldened with their goal to see “14 cities putforth soda taxes by 2014, under the theory thatstretching the beverage industry’s resources sothin might enable a few of the taxes to pass.” CityCouncilman Dr. Jeff Ritterman, who sponsoredthe ballot initiative in Richmond, told the SanFrancisco Chronicle, “We lost the election, but themovement will eventually win.” This is the attri-tion warfare the food movement is fighting. Thisyear and next will see an increase in the attemptto introduce these types of taxes—not just onsoda, but on many other items sold in conven-ience stores, especially tobacco and alcohol. What else can we expect? As state legisla-tures go back into session this year, several areconsidering legislation to allow online gamblingas a means to plug budget shortfalls. This mayinclude the online sales of lottery tickets, whichwould present a major problem for conveniencestores. At the same time, the federal govern-ment is again promising to look at the issue,which could be a blessing or a curse.

Over in Chicago, energy drinks are being tar-geted and, like soda taxes, this represents thetip of the proverbial iceberg. In a draconianmove, a citywide ban has been proposed on allenergy drinks in the Windy City. According to theChicago Sun-Times, Alderman Edward M. Burke,chairman of the City Council’s Finance Commit-tee, “proposed the blanket ban, citing the popu-larity of drinks such as Red Bull, Monster, FullThrottle and 5 Hour Energy among teenagersand young adults and the dangers those drinkscan pose to their health.” While this is a so-called “health” issue and not a revenue-raising

ploy, and while it is unlikely tobe approved, it does point tothe push—at both the stateand federal level—to addressthe energy drinks issue. We canexpect both to do so.

Other issues franchiseescan expect to face include new

limits and crackdowns on age-restricted items,and plastic bag bans and restrictions. However,depending on how legislation is proposed fordealing with plastic bags, franchisees could po-tentially benefit from this issue. As always, the NCASEF will be working withallies at the national level to oppose much ofthis type of legislation, but ultimately the vote isbest fought and won at the local level. It istherefore imperative that as franchisees you arepolitically aware of what is going on in yourcommunity and state. Many of these initia-tives—such asthe ballot initia-tives in Richmondand El Monte—creep up with lit-tle fanfare orpublicity, and of-tentimes you willbecome aware ofthem before they

make national headlines. If you hear of any leg-islation or regulation that may have a negativeimpact on 7-Eleven storeowners, please inform

the NCASEF or your local FOA. The NCASEF will then work with

your FOA to craft and implementan opposition strategy. Look to theNCASEF as a resource in these leg-islative situations, and know that inthe end, our goal is to give con-sumers the greatest amount ofchoice, the best service and themost competitive prices.

FAILED BEVERAGE AND FOOD LEGISLATION TO RESURFACE IN 2013By Jason Miko, Russell Communications

increment. • Volatilegas prices and a chal-

lenging economic environment havetaught fuel consumers to seek outdeals, discounts, and loyalty pro-grams to get the best value fortheir money, according to a recent

motor fuels research by The NPDGroup. • According to a new Harris Poll,

most Americans believe the use of smartphonepayments will beat out credit cards and cash inthe near future. • Hundreds of new ATMs ca-pable of dispensing as little as $1 are poppingup across the country, reported CNNMoney.Chase and PNC have both been launchingATMs that churn out exact change to the dol-lar, allowing customers to withdraw denomi-nations as low as $1 and $5. • SwisherInternational announced that Alex Goldmanhas joined the company as President of RoyalGold Cigars, a new premium cigar division. •Shop24 of Nebraska recently opened its firstShop24 robotic c-store in the state in downtownOmaha. Shop24 is a fully automated, self-con-tained c-store that operates 24/7 and dis-penses a variety of items like snacks, cleaningsupplies, and health and beauty products. •Redbox DVD kiosks in the Los Angeles area arenow selling live event tickets through its Red-box Tickets service. Tickets can be purchasedonline at www.redbox.com/tickets and at thesame kiosks where consumers rent DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and video games. • C-store chainWawa recently opened five locations in fiveweeks in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Thecompany plans to open a hundred or morestores in the state within five years. • Unionmembership accounted for only 11.3 percent ofthe workforce in 2012, a drop from 11.8 per-



“This year and next will see an increase in the attempt to introduce taxes on soda, tobacco, alcohol and otheritems sold in convenience stores.”

“As state legislatures go back into session this year, several are considering legislation to allow online gambling as a means to plug budget shortfalls.”


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heartbeat and potential interaction with med-ications—to energy drink consumption by teenagers. “Until we canfully understand the effects of these drinks on our children’s health,we should not make these drinks readily available to them,” she said.

Texas Considers Statewide Smoking Ban Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis recently filed a bill that wouldban smoking in all indoor and outdoor workplaces, including barsand restaurants, reported KFDA-TV. If passed, this would place Texasamong 28 states with a similar ban already in effect. In support ofhis move, Ellis said smoking is a public safety concern and about$96 billion are spent annually in health care costs attributed tosmoking-related diseases. There are a few exceptions to the bill, in-cluding outdoor patios designated for smoking at restaurants andbars. The senator said he has tried to change the state's smokinglaws more than once, and if Senate Bill 86 does not pass this yearhe is going to keep pushing.

Pennsylvania Governor Announces Liquor Privatization Plan Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett recently announced his planto privatize the liquor system in Pennsylvania and committed $1 bil-lion in proceeds from the process to education funding. Corbett saidhis plan will offer Pennsylvania consumers greatly increased conven-ience and choice because they will be able to buy the products theydesire in a simpler, more accessible and more rational way. For ex-

ample, consumers will be able to buy beer andwine where they shop for groceries, buy sixpacks of beer at a distributor instead of beingforced to buy an entire case, and buy a sixpack of beer at a convenience store. Cur-rently, Pennsylvania residents can only pur-chase beer in beer distributorships by thecase, and wine and liquor in one of thestate’s 650 state liquor stores. Pennsylvaniahas far fewer alcohol retail establishments per

resident than the average state. This pro-posal would allow the number of establishments to be naturallydriven by the market, as it is in other states.

Oregon Bill Would Make Cigarettes Prescription-Only Drugs A seemingly frivolous bill is making the rounds of the OregonLegislature that would make cigarettes a Schedule III controlledsubstance, meaning it would be illegal to possess or distribute ciga-rettes without a doctor's prescription, reported FOX 12 Oregon.Under the proposed measure, offenders would face maximum pun-ishments of one year in prison, a $6,250 fine or both. Other drugsand substances that are considered Schedule III controlled sub-stances are ketamine, lysergicacid and anabolic steroids.

Colorado Bill ForCraft Beer InC-Stores Gets Nixed A bill that would have al-lowed craft beer in Coloradoconvenience and grocerystores was killed recently byits own sponsor, who cited alack of support, reported Col-oradoan.com. House Bill1178 called for allowing gro-cery stores, c-stores, andother retailers to sell craft beer. Craft beer is defined as beer with analcohol content above 3.2 percent by weight or 4 percent alcoholby volume that is manufactured by a craft brewer that produces nomore than 6 million barrels per year, according to the bill. Efforts toget full-strength beer onto c-store and grocery store shelves datesback to 2009, but this bill was written with Colorado craft brew-eries in mind. Currently, grocery stores in Colorado can sell beerwith an alcohol content of 3.2 percent or less. House Bill 1178would not have allowed all grocery stores to sell full-strength beer,but would have allowed four additional licenses per city for grocerystores.

Colorado House Okays Sales Tax On Cigarettes A bill that would permanently allow state sales tax to be im-posed on cigarettes recently won initial approval in the Colorado

“Pennsylvania residents can only purchasebeer in beer distributorships by the case,and wine and liquor in one of the state’s650 state liquor stores.”

“A bill that wouldhave allowedcra beer in Colorado con-venience and gro-cery stores waskilled recently byits own sponsor, who cited a lackof support.”

www.ncasef.com


Legislative UpdateHouse, reported the Denver Post. House Bill1144 would permanently eliminate the state sales tax exemptionon cigarettes. The state sales tax is 2.9 percent, which amounts to12 or 13 cents on a pack of cigarettes. The bill would generate anestimated $28 million when it takes effect in the 2013-14 fiscalyear, which begins in July.

NYC Mayor Calls For BanOn Plastic-Foam Packaging New York City Mayor MichaelBloomberg called for a citywide ban onplastic-foam packaging used for coffeecups and food containers as part of asweeping new recycling effort, reportedYahoo! News. The proposal comes on theheels of other ambitious citywide regulationsBloomberg has implemented while in office, includinga ban on smoking in the city's bars, restaurants, and parks;limits on the sales of sugary sodas; and a requirement that fast foodeateries post the fat and calorie counts of the meals they serve. Bloomberg's push comes after several other major cities—in-cluding San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Oregon—have passedsimilar bans on plastic-foam packaging, which is more expensive torecycle and is considered harmful to the environment. The proposalis likely to face considerable opposition from the city’s restaurantand convenience store industries, which are already fired up about acitywide ban on sales of cups of soda larger than 16 ounces set togo into effect in March.

NJ Senate Approves Minimum Wage Resolution An effort to raise New Jersey's minimum wage moved one stepcloser to voters when the state Senate recently approved a resolu-tion to call for a constitutional amendment to raise the rate and tiefurther increases to the Consumer Price Index, the Associated Pressreported. In order to be placed on the ballot, the resolution has topass both houses. If approved, it would raise the minimum wagefrom $7.25 an hour to $8.25 next January and would increasebased on the annual price index. In January Governor Chris Christievetoed a bill that would have raised the minimum wage by $1.25per hour. He suggested a $1 per hour wage increase if Democratsagree to phase it in over three years.

Sacramento To Ban Plastic Grocery Bags A Sacramento City Council subcommittee has moved forwardwith drafting an ordinance to ban single-use plastic shopping bags

at large grocery stores in the city, reportedthe Sacramento Bee. The council's Law and Legislation Committee di-rected city staff to begin working on the ordinance, which will even-tually return to the committee before being voted on by the CityCouncil. The process of adopting a ban would likely take until June.In addition to banning plastic bags, the ordinance would place a 5-cent or 10-cent charge on paper shopping bags. That money would

go to stores, not to the city. Council members said theywould prefer a ban that applies to large grocery outlets, aswell as department stores and chain pharmacies that sellgroceries, such as Target and CVS. Smaller stores wouldlikely be exempt from the ban.

Florida City CommissionConsiders Limit On C-Stores

Battling an over-saturation of convenience stores, the Commis-sion of Hollywood, Florida recently voted unanimously to limit thenumber of c-stores that can open up in the city, reported the MiamiHerald. In December, the commission gave preliminary approval to anew zoning rule that means c-stores need to be 2,500 feet fromeach other—from property line to property line. The rule alsostrengthens design standards by requiring new stores to have en-trances facing the main street, clear windows and no products out-side to sell. The regulations leave about 11 percent of the city openfor new stores. Hollywood presently has about 118 c-stores. If thenational average is applied, the city has about 75 percent morestores than it should. The law, which is affective immediately, onlyapplies to new stores, but the city plans on stepping up code en-forcement on already existing stores.

NY Governor Calls For Minimum Wage Hike New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed raising theminimum wage to $8.75 an hour from the current $7.25, re-ported the Associated Press. The first-term Democratic governorsaid the minimum wage in 19 states—including neighbors inConnecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts—is higher than NewYork. Proponents of the hike said many adults currently makingthe minimum wage can barely afford to pay their bills. Republi-cans who control the Senate prefer business tax breaks to spurthe economy. A person earning minimum wage in New Yorkmakes $14,616 a year. The New York Association of ConvenienceStores said a minimum wage increase would place many c-storesin a precarious position, as mom-and-pop operations would notbe able to afford the 21 percent spike in payroll in the currenteconomic climate.

Legislative Update

cent the year before,reported the New YorkTimes. • Several to-bacco companies are appealing a federaljudge's order that they place corrective state-ments in their marketing materials, reported theWinston-Salem Journal. The “truth” statementsset forth by the judge include the adverse healtheffects of smoking, and the addictiveness ofsmoking and nicotine. • The governor ofWyoming recently signed a bill into law that willincrease the state's fuel tax by a dime a gallonon July 1, reported the Associated Press. Rev-enue from the tax will be used to fund thestate’s Department of Transportation. • TheUnited Nations officially launched the 2013 In-ternational Year of Quinoa initiative on February20. Quinoa, considered a super food by nutri-tionists and health experts alike, is gainingworldwide recognition for its high nutritionalcontent. n



all adults surveyed said they have usedeither walk-in retail clinics (19 percent)or work-based clinics (11 percent) to ob-tain medical care in the past two years.That's up from just 7 percent in 2008. Convenience was key to consumersopting for retail clinic care. The most fre-quent reasons cited for using either a re-tail or work-based clinic was that theclinics didn't require an appointment,had a convenient location, involved shortwaiting times, had accessible hours, andwere affordable and/or accepting of theperson's particular insurance. The survey found that people weremost likely to visit either a retail or work-based clinic for run-of-the-mill com-plaints such as colds or flu-like symp-toms, minor cuts and wounds, and for

routine needs such as flu shots, prescrip-tions and to check blood pressure or cho-lesterol. Fewer respondents indicatedwillingness to use these clinics for poten-tially more serious concerns.

Franchisees, Exhibitors and Major Sponsors cannow register for the NCASEF Convention andTrade Show including hotel at www.ncasef.com.


NEW HEALTHYFRESH FOOD OPTIONS To meet the grow-ing needs of its health-con-scious guests, SEI recently introduced new"better-for-you" fresh and convenient foodoptions to all its stores, reported CSP DailyNews. Among the selections in differentparts of the country: 7-Smart Turkey withTomato on Wheat; Smoked Turkey & JackCheese on Wheat with Southwest Mayo;Bistro Snack Protein Pack with soft minipitas, sharp cheddar cheesecubes, red grapes, celery,baby carrots and hum-mus; Yoplait Fruit &Yogurt Parfait; FruitCups; and Carrot andCelery Packs in 7-

Eleven's ranch or bleu cheese dips.

‘FABULOUS FRESH FOODSFRIDAY’ IN OREGON Tasting is believing. That’s why 7-Eleven dedicated a day for Oregon-arearesidents to see what’s cooking, brewing,baking and warming at its stores on Fab-

ulous Fresh Foods Friday—orFFFF—on February 22. On thatdate, selected 7-Eleven stores served

free samples of prepared foods like itsJalapeño Cheddar Sausage, BlueberryPancake Sausage Roller, Mini Donuts,Turkey and Havarti Sandwiches, hotCheese and Pepperoni Pizza, ChickenChipotle Mini Tacos, and hot beverageslike new Brazilian Dark Roast coffee andSkinny Salted Caramel Mocha Cappuc-cino. Seven Portland stores participatedin the sampling event as well as select 7-Eleven stores in Albany, Aloha, Beaver-

ton, Coos Bay, Medford, Pasco,Redmond, Spokane, Spokane

Valley, Springfield,Tigard, Vancouver, WestLinn, Woodburn andYakima.

MOBILE ADVERTISING

ATTRACTING MORE CUSTOMERS

SEI continues to make mobile adver-tising a big part of its marketing strategyand is using it to not only promote itsnew products, but to encourage con-sumers to try them out for themselves in7-Eleven stores, reported Mobile Com-merce Daily. 7-Eleven is currently run-ning a mobile campaign to promoteTropicana Farmstand beverages withinUs Magazine’s iPhone application, and isusing it to drive foot traffic and reachconsumers on a deeper level. The ad reads “Tropicana Farmstand”

and features the 7-Eleven logo. When con-sumers tap on themobile banner ad, it ex-pands and invites con-sumers to learn moreabout the product in an in-teractive way. It also has aStore Locator button to helpconsumers find the nearest 7-Eleven lo-cation.

FIRST PRE-FAB 7-ELEVENBUILT IN DALLAS SEI recently built its first 7-Elevenusing pre-fabricated materials, reportedForbes. The Dallas store was built by Proj-ect Frog, a San Francisco startup thatmakes stylish, energy-efficient buildingsthat can be put up in less time and asmuch as 50 percent cheaper. In fact, theDallas location opened a whole monthfaster than would a conventional “stick-built” store, according to the report.

DARKEST BRAZILIAN ROASTCOFFEE LAUNCHED WITH SPECIAL OFFER To encourage coffee-lovers to try itslatest, darkest roast coffee, SEI held Dol-lar Coffee Wednesdays in January, whenevery size cup of coffee cost just $1. Thenew Brazilian Dark Roast is 7-Eleven’srichest, most full-bodied coffee to date.Made from 100 percent Arabica beans,this premium blend starts with moun-tain-grown coffees from Southwestern

SEI’s first store using prefabmaterials opened amonth faster than a

conventionally built store.

continued next page

Brazil, then is roasted dark to create arich and full-bodied taste. During $1Coffee Wednesdays in January, gueststried the new premium dark roast or cre-ated their favorite coffee creation in anysize of cup.

NEW AUSTIN FRANCHISEE'SAMERICAN DREAM SEI recently publicized the story ofnew 7-Eleven franchisee Phuong Duong'sjourney to become an independent busi-ness owner, and it may be longer thanmost, beginning almost 30 years ago inwar-torn Vietnam and a treacherous boatride to Malaysia in 1985 with her parentsand two siblings. While at a Malaysianrefugee camp, then U.S. Vice PresidentDan Quayle paid a visit, and out of thethousands of children clamoring for hisattention, he picked up 5-year-oldPhuong. She told him she wanted to go toAmerica "for freedom, education and op-portunity." The vice president asked forher family's name, wrote it on a slip ofpaper and put it in his suit pocket. Twomonths later, the Duong family

received a call from the

U.S. Embassy informing them of their ap-proval to immigrate. "He kept his promise," Phuong says.And she kept hers. The Duongs got theirfreedom, and Phuong made a pledge toherself that she would study hard and be-come a responsible citizen. She workedhard to excel in school and went on toearn a social welfare degree from the Uni-versity of California at Berkeley. Beforelong, her desire to start her own businessgrew. Phuong's older sister Cyan moved toAustin from California to become a 7-Eleven franchisee, and her enthusiasticreports from Texas led Phuong to followher sister to seek a similar opportunity.After being approved to acquire a 7-Eleven franchise she moved to Austinseven months ago to begin her training.Her new 7-Eleven store at I-35 andHoward recently opened forbusiness, near her sisterCyan’s store in down-town Austin at NorthLamar Boulevard andWest 10(th) Street,and a friendly rivalryappears to have sprungup between the sisterfranchisees. "My sister'sstore does really great and has lots ofbusiness," Phuong said. "I want mystore to do just as well, if not better!"

SEI HOSTS FRANCHISINGSEMINAR IN ORLANDOSEI recently held a franchise

seminar for those interested in

finding out more about franchising op-portunities with 7-Eleven stores in theOrlando and Daytona areas, reported theOrlando Advocate. SEI representatives forthe Orlando and Daytona areas explainedthe company’s franchise system, businessmodel and benefits to franchising. Atten-dees learned that SEI provides the land,building, equipment and a turn-key op-eration for its franchisees, and that the av-erage up front, total investment for a7-Eleven franchise is based on the indi-vidual store’s profitability. This includesthe store’s opening inventory, supplies,business licenses, permits, bonds, cashregister fund and the franchise fee.

JACKSONVILLE STORE OPENINGS CELEBRATED ONGRAND SCALE

7-Eleven, Inc. cele-brated the first wave of storeopenings in Jacksonvilleon December 19, afterannouncing earlier lastyear its return to thenorth Florida market.With plans to open 80

stores by 2016, SEI alreadyhas opened 11 stores in the

Jacksonville area and a few more inother parts of northeastern Florida. Dur-ing this grand opening, the company ac-tually celebrated the opening of 117-Eleven stores since late March 2012 andthe many more to come. SEI is it nowopening a store approximately every threeweeks in northern Florida.

SEI is now opening a store

approximately everythree weeks in northern Florida.


New

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Budweiser Black Crown Brewed For Wide Appeal The crowd fa-vorite among themore than 25,000adult drinkers fromcoast to coast whoparticipated in thebrand's Project 12sampling initia-tive, Budweiser Black Crown is a golden amber lager that fea-tures a blend of two-row caramel malt and four types ofdomestic hops, finished on a bed of Beechwood chips for a

smooth, balanced taste. It also has morebody, color and hop character than theflagship lager, with a slightly higher al-cohol content at 6 percent ABV. An-heuser-Busch research shows that afterbeer drinkers try Budweiser BlackCrown, 84 percent would purchase it.

Budweiser Black Crown landed in stores January 21 and issold in 12-ounce glass bottles available in six- and 12-packsand in 22-ounce single bottles. The brew made its TV debutwith a 30-second ad during Super Bowl XLVII on February 3,

and its national advertising campaign includes outdoor, digital,radio and print. In social media, the new brand has interactiveconsumer programs on Facebook and Twitter that are designedto be participatory, similar in spirit to when consumers wereasked to help choose the recipe that would ultimately becomeBudweiser Black Crown.

ExtenZe HT Counter-Top DisplayKretek International recently introduced a

corrugated counter-top display for the newestaddition to the Kretek Performance Brand fam-ily—ExtenZe HT. Each pegged, two-tiered dis-play features bold, eye-catching graphics andholds twelve 5-count blister cards, producingmore than $80 in retail sales per turn on a4”x5¼” footprint.

Specifically formulated to support increasedtestosterone, ExtenZe HT contains Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA), which directly af-fects muscle tone, along with Pregnenolone,for an overall sense of well-being. It also pro-motes the restoration of DHEA and DHEA-S

levels in order to help men regain theiryouthful energy level and sex drive.

DR PEPPER SNAPPLE’S FIVE NEW LOW-CALORIE SODAS


Dr Pepper Snapple Group has unveiled 10-calorie ver-sions of five of its most popular soda brands. With the launchof 7UP TEN, A&W TEN Root Beer, Sunkist TEN Orange Soda,Canada Dry TEN Ginger Ale, and RC TEN Cola, consumerscan get both great taste and low calories. The sodas use aunique blend of caloric andnon-caloric sweeteners todeliver a full flavor withonly 10 calories per 12 oz.serving. The new sodas follow upthe successful launch lastyear of Dr Pepper TEN,which is enjoying strong trial

and repeat purchase rates. The five new TEN products weretested throughout 2012 in several markets and have receiveda strong response, with 40 percent of sales incremental to thesoft drink category. With its new TEN platform, thecompany said it is targeting consumers 25-39

years old who loveregular soda buthave cut back theirconsumption be-cause they arewatching theircalories. For moreinformation, visitTenGetBoth.com.

Budweiser Black Crown appealed to 84 percent of beer drinkers in tests.

7UP TEN, A&W TEN Root Beer, Sunkist TEN Orange Soda, Canada DryTEN Ginger Ale, and RC TEN Cola with only 10 calories per serving.

Kretek’s new counter-topdisplay provides more visi-bility for new ExtenZe HT.

ExtenZe HT 5-count softgel blister cards can be presented on thenew counter-top display or in the HBA sections of conveniencestores, alongside other men’s performance products. BioTab is sup-porting the introduction of new Extenze HT with strong consumeradvertising into 2013.

Ask your Kretek sales representative for details, call 1-800-358-8100, or email [email protected].

New MiO Fit Sports Drink New MiO Fit is an electrolyte-enhanced exten-sion of the MiO liquid water enhancer. From the

court to the field to the gym, MiO Fitgives customers what they wantafter breaking a sweat—includingelectrolytes, B vitamins and zerocalories—by changing water into arefreshing sports drink made to theirideal taste. The unique, portable bot-tle means customers can always carrymultiple servings of MiO Fit withthem wherever they go.

MiO Fit is available in conven-ience stores in two flavors—ArcticGrape and Berry Blast. Thelaunch of MiO Fit is supported

by a promotional campaign that in-cludes strong digital and social media, public rela-tions, sampling, and consumer incentives.

DjEEP Adds Two New Images To Marilyn MonroeLighters Line

Kretek International has extended the DjEEPMarilyn Monroe collectors series with two new de-signs—a newly released red dress pose and a classic‘50s black and white photo. The Marilyn Monroe se-ries is now one of DjEEP’s top sellers ever. The newlighters are available since February 2013 on three dif-ferent counter display choices, including 108-countcombo merchandisers. DjEEP lighters offer up to4,000 lights, with an extra-large wind guard and

thumb plate.With morethan 110points of in-spection, con-sumer

satisfaction is guar-anteed. Contact your

GOPICNIC GRAB & GO MEALSHEALTHIER CHOICES

In response to consumers' need for “better for you” flavor-filled meals thatcan be enjoyed on the go, GoPicnic has launched a line of all-natural and delimeals that are pre-packaged, ready-to-eat and require no refrigeration or prepa-ration. Several of the meals are gluten-free, which means consumers who aresensitive to gluten can savor the foods they love in a convenient package. Eachmeal contains less than 500 calories, and all are priced at just $4.99. Meals fea-ture a long shelf life, preventing extra waste. Compact enough to slip into a handbag, laptop bag or backpack, GoPicnic all-natural meals are free of artificial colors, artificial flavors and artificial preserva-tives. Additionally, they contain no trans fats, no high fructose corn syrup, and noadded MSG. Each meal includes 5 food items plus utensils. The three meals avail-able through McLane for 7-Eleven franchises, include: Turkey Pepperoni & Cheese (Gluten-Free): Featuring Bridgford Turkey Pepper-oni Slices, Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers, Copper Cowbell Asiago GourmetCheese Spread, Sweet Perry Orchards Tangy Tango Cranberries & Pineapple, andBrown & Haley Almond Roca Buttercrunch Toffee. Contains 12g protein, 2g fiberand 300 calories. Hickory Farms Beef, Cheese & Crackers: Featuring Hickory Farms Original BeefSausage Snack, Hickory Farms Sesame, Caraway, & Sea Salt Crackers, HickoryFarms White Cheddar Gourmet Cheese Spread, Hickory Farms Dried Fruit Medley,and Hickory Farms Cinnamon Roasted Almonds. Contains 11g protein, 3g fiberand 350 calories. Hummus & Crackers (All-Natural, Gluten-Free, Vegan and kosher): FeaturingWild Garden Hummus Dip, Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers, Sweet Perry Or-chards Baja Blend Fruit & Nut Mix, Sweet Perry Orchards Power Play Tasty SeedBlend, and Professor Zim Zam’s Extraordinary Sweets Dark Chocolate with SeaSalt. Contains 19g protein, 7g fiber and 380 calories. For more information visit www.GoPicnic.com, email [email protected] orby phone at 773-328-2490.




The Marilyn Monroe series isDjEEP’s best selling ever.

New MiO Fit isavailable in ArcticGrape and BerryBlast flavors.


Kretek sales representative for more details. Call 1-800-358-8100, or email [email protected].

LOGIC E-Cigs RankedA Top Seller In C-Stores LOGIC Technology, makers of premium electronic cigarettes,recently announced the results of Nielsen's Brand Rank Report

indicating LOGIC outperformed ecigcompetitors in the fourth quarter of

2012 for sales per point of distribution,ranking number two. The report is based on sales from U.S. con-venience stores and comes on the heels of an independent sur-vey finding LOGIC to be the best-selling and most popularelectronic cigarette brand in New York City.

The electronic cigarette industry israpidly growing and was recentlyreported to support revenuesreaching $300 million. LOGIC'sproducts and innovation havecontributed to its tremendoussales growth, rising 600 per-cent from 2011 to 2012. Ac-

cording to the recent independent survey conducted by FreesMedia, 55 percent of stores in New York's five boroughs reportedLOGIC'S premium e-cigarettes were their best selling brand.

LOGIC e-cigarettes are available in disposable and recharge-able versions. For more information about LOGIC Technol-ogy, visit www.LogicEcig.com.

Price Rollback For LonghornAnd Timber Wolf Pouches Swedish Match has announced a reduction in thefactory selling price for all Longhorn and Timber Wolfpouches to $.90. The new list price represents a 31percent reduction for Longhorn and a 49 percent re-

duction for Timber Wolf. The new pricingwent into effect on

January 21,2013, andcomes onthe heels of the introduc-tion of Timber Wolf andLonghorn’s new unique

package design that offers the disposable pouch com-partment—an industry first. Both brands will be sup-ported with effective point of sale and promotions.

Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds In New On-the-Go Packs

Paramount Farms recently launched WonderfulPistachios and Almonds new single and multi-servepacks for convenience stores. Wonderful Pistachios1.25, 1.5, 2.5, 4.5 and 5-ounce on-the-go packs areavailable in Roasted & Salted, Shelled, Salt & Pepper,

and Sweet Chili. Wonderful Almonds are available in Roasted &Salted and Natural Raw.



LOGIC PremiumE-Cigarette, number two inpoint of distribution sales.

RESOURCE NATURALSPRING WATER

NOW NATIONWIDE Resource 100% Natural Spring Water, Nestlé Waters NorthAmerica’s new premium still water brand, is expanding nation-ally and is available to retailers across the U.S. as of January2013. Following the success of the 2012 launch in Southern Cal-ifornia, Nestlé made the decision to capitalize on consumer in-terest in the product and expand to national distribution in2013. Resource is a 100-percent natural springwater sourced only from carefully selected natu-ral springs that have naturally occurring elec-trolytes, producing a crisp, clean taste. Thebottle is made with 50 percent recycledplastic. The brand will be positioned as ahealthy electrolyte option versus isotonicscontaining sugar.

While the product has just begun rollingout to retailers, the brand is ramping up fora national marketing launch in mid-2013.Resource will kick off with a high-profileevent and then continue to be supportedthrough a comprehensive marketing cam-paign including print and digital advertis-ing, brand partnerships, social media efforts,

and in-market account-specific activa-

Swedish Match has reducedthe factory selling price for allLonghorn and Timber Wolf

pouches to $.90.


Paramount Farms’ signature on-the-go item, theWonderful Pistachios 5-ounce bag, has the fastest

turnover of any other snack nut in conven-ience stores today. According to SymphonyIRI data, 87 percent of consumers are tryingto eat healthier, and these expanded sizes anddistribution are another way for Wonderful Pis-tachios and Almonds to meet that demand.

Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds can beordered thru McLane in these flavors: Roasted &Salted (3/8/5 oz.) UIN 388926; Kernels (8/12/2.5oz.)—UIN Request; Roasted & Salted Tube(10/12/1.5 oz.)—UIN 357814; Roasted &Salted (3/8/5 oz.)—UIN19398; Salt & PepperTube (10/12/1.25 oz.)—UIN 357616; SweetChili Tube (10/12/1.25oz.)—UIN 357624; Salt& Pepper (3/8/4.5 oz.)—UIN 255083; Sweet

Chili (3/8/4.5 oz.)—UIN 255208; Wonderful Pistachios Display(60/5 oz.)—UIN 138867.

Rockin’ Refuel ProteinAnd Real Milk Rockin’ Refuel is the first protein real-milk beverage of its kind. Each one isloaded with protein, calcium, and nutri-ents, giving your active customers thehealthy option they crave. Beverages likeRockin' Refuel are in high demand—A2013 Mintel report shows a strong up-ward trend in the number of U.S. con-

sumers turning to high-protein products to aid in satiety, weightmanagement, and to boost muscle recovery after a workout. Be-cause Rockin' Refuel is made with real milk, they’re all incrediblydelicious. Available in two varieties:

• Intense Recovery—20g of high-quality natural protein and a 2:1carb-to-protein ratio combine to make Rockin’ Refuel Intense Re-covery the optimal muscle recovery beverage.

• Muscle Builder—30g of high-quality natural protein, 8 gramsnet carbs, and a lactose-free formula combine to make Rockin’ Re-fuel Muscle Builder the ideal beverage that’s designed to aid in leanmuscle development.

Order through McLane. For more information contact yourRockin’ Refuel sales representative, Chris Perry, at 602-803-7497,or visit www.rockinrefuel.com.

Wearable Ring PopGummies Candy Bazooka Candy Brands is extending theirbest-selling Ring Pop lollipop brand withthe debut of Ring Pop Gummies. The new,gummy version of Ring Pop makesgummy candy wearable, shareable, andmore fun to consume. Ring Pop Gum-mies will be available in 1.7 oz.pouches for the front end and 5 oz.peg bags for the take home candysection, with a suggested retail price of $1.19 and $2.29, re-spectively. The candy will debut in four classic Ring Pop flavorsincluding Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon and Blue Raspberry


Makers of 5-Hour Energy Living Essentials recently an-nounced the release of Slimful, a 90-calorie chew designed to

help people eat lessand thereby achievetheir weight lossgoals. When con-

sumed witha glass of

water, Slimful chews satisfy hunger for hours, making it eas-ier to eat smaller meals and resist snacking. Drinking at leasteight ounces of water after eating a Slimful is important.Slimful chews contain a dietary fiber that absorbs the waterand expands to take up space in the stomach, which canhelp satisfy hunger for hours. Slimful chews come in four fla-vors: Orange Tangerine, Honey Almond, Cocoa Brownie, andVery Berry.


SINFULLY DELICIOUS SLIMFUL CHEWS

Slimful 90-calorie chew combines hunger control and great taste.

Wonderful Pistachiosand Almonds in newsingle and multi-serve packs.

Rockin' Refuel, protein and real milk,grabs consumers with great taste.

Ring Pop Gummies will beavailable in 1.7 oz. pouches

and 5 oz. peg bags.

and will be available nationally in early 2013.

To support the introduction of Ring Pop Gummies at retail,Bazooka Candy Brands is planning a comprehensive national

marketing and promotional campaign. For more information onRing Pop Gummies, please visit www.bazookajoe.com.



Revive Morning Sales With MTN DEWKICKSTART MTN DEW KICKSTART combines thegreat taste of DEW with 5 per-cent fruit juice. An energizingproduct, MTN DEW KICKSTARThas just the right amount ofkick to start the day. Contain-ing 80 calories per 16oz. can,it is available in two flavors:Orange Citrus (SLIN 244709)and Fruit Punch (SLIN244649). Fifty percent of Millennial shop-pers’ pick-me-up occasions occur in theAM, and MTN DEW KICKSTART is de-signed to drive category sales incremen-tally by bringing these younger shoppersinto your stores for the morning occasion.

MTN DEW KICKSTART landed in 7-Eleven stores with a special deal—“Buy 2Get 1 FREE: New MTN DEW KICKSTARTFREE with purchase of any two (2) MTNDEW 20 oz. or MTN DEW KICKSTART 16oz.” There is also a special breakfast tear

pad offer: “Save$1.00 with pur-chase of MTNDEW KICKSTARTand any break-fast item at 7-Eleven.”

New Pepsi 16 oz. Can 4-Pack Gain incremental sales with the newtake-home 16 oz. Can 4-Pack from the

makers of Pepsi! Starting inMarch, this new packagingconfiguration will be avail-able in all 7-Eleven stores inthe following brands: Pepsi,Diet Pepsi, MTN DEW, andDiet MTN DEW, and will bepriced at an everyday valueof $1.99. A national FSI, de-

livering 50MM impressions, will drop onMarch 3 to drive awareness of this newpackaging andother value price-points and inno-vation promotedat 7-Elevenstores betweenMarch 1 throughMay 17!

Introducing AMPENERGY Active Orange AMP ENERGY Active Orange presents astrong new flavor option, as Orange is theNumber 1 requested flavor by AMP EN-ERGY fans on Facebook. The Energy cate-gory continues to grow rapidly in everychannel, and AMP ENERGY Active Orange

takes advantage of categorygrowth trends by offering agreat tasting Orange prod-uct. Available in 16-oz.

cans, AMP ENERGY Active Or-ange (SLIN 244752) containscaffeine and electrolytes andjoins Lemonade and SugarFree Lemonade in the AMPENERGY Active line.

New To 7-Eleven:Starbucks Iced Coffee Starbucks Iced Coffee is now availablein 7-Eleven stores. Made with premiumStarbucks coffee roasted and brewed fora delicious coffee flavor, Starbucks IcedCoffee is delivered in a quick-to-pick-upand easy-to-pack-along 11oz. glass bot-tle. Available in the following flavors: Cof-fee + Milk, Coffee + Milk Low Calorie,Vanilla, and Caramel (this flavor is avail-able in the Northeast region only). Thelaunch is supported at 7-Eleven storeswith a special promoted price of 2 for $3from March 1 through May 17.Take advantage of the ex-plosive IcedCoffee cate-gory—QuickServiceRestaurantsalready serveover 500 mil-lion servingsof Iced Coffeea year.

Pepsi Unveils New Products


Optimo Cigarillos With NewSide�Open Pouch Design Optimo Cigarillos are now easier to remove from the pouch. En-gineers at Swisher International have completely redesigned thecigar pouch with an industry-first, side-open pouch design. Simplyuse the easy-tear notch to open the foil package length-wise ver-sus at the top or bottom.

The new foil pouch locks in the freshnessto ensure every cigar tastes as if it was

made that day. Also, a unique re-seal feature on the pouch—thatsimply seals by pressing along the

package—keeps the second cigarjust as fresh as the first.

Optimo Peach, Sweet andBlack are available in the newpouches nationwide. For more infor-

mation contact your Swisher representativeor call 1-800-874-9720.

Argo Tea Now In 7-Eleven Argo Tea all natural, premium teas have landed in 7-Eleven. Asconsumers continue to search and switch to great-tasting, better-for-you offerings, Argo Tea is a perfect fit. These beverages also offergreat margins and penny profit: ata $16.77 case cost and $.96 percase rebate, each unit costs $1.32with an SRP of $2.49 SRP, gener-ating a 47 percent margin and$1.17 penny profit.

The tea category continues togrow and Argo Tea provides store-owners with a great opportunity togrow store sales and profit whilemeeting customer expectations. Aftersignificant in-store testing, the follow-ing three flavors have been approved for 7-Eleven stores:

• Carolina Honey—Energizing Nilgiri black tea from the highlandsof Southern India, with sweet Grade A wildflower honey and asplash of tart lemon.

• Green Tea Ginger Twist—Antioxidant-packed Japanese greentea, real pieces of spicy ginger, and a twist of ripe lemons.

• Hibiscus Tea Sangria—Thirst-quenching hibiscus tea, with crispapple, and a sweet medley of berries and orange.

Snyder’s Best Sellers Now Available In 7-Eleven Are your stores getting their fair share of salesand profits with America’s #1 “Better for You”snack Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzels? If not, thenmake them a part of your Warehouse Salty SnackSection today. All Snyder’s of Hanover c-stores items are available in

BAZOOKA BUBBLE GUMRE-LAUNCHED

Bazooka Candy Brands has re-launched the iconic Bazooka BubbleGum. The updated confection boasts asleek, new packaging, a brand new fla-

vor, and a unique and engaging digi-tal content component. BazookaBubble Gum first debuted in 1947,and this is the first complete

makeover the gum has experienced in its six-decade history.

Updates include an improved, longer-lasting original flavor plusthe launch of a Blue Raspberry version, which is a favorite amongkids. The new packaging features bold and colorful graffiti-styledwallet packs, each containing both flavors of the gum. The BazookaJoe comic inserts have also been updated with a digital extensionto increase consumer interaction. Each insert features activities,quizzes or games kids can play, as well as a code that will allowthem to unlock content online at the brand’s new entertainmenthub, BazookaJoe.com.

The revamp of Bazooka Bubble Gum comes at a time whenBazooka Candy Brands has seen much success across their confec-tion portfolio, with the Juicy Drop Pop, Baby Bottle Pop, Jumbo PushPop, and Ring Pop brands ranking in the top fifteen in terms offront-of-store non-chocolate candy sales.

Bazooka Bubble Gum with all-new packaging, two flavors,and a digital experience.

Argo Tea all natural, premiumteas offer great margins and

penny profit.

Optimo Cigarillos now in a new re-sealable,side-open foil pouch.




the 7-Eleven ordering system, including these bestsellers in 7-Eleven: Mini Pretzels (#3, +16 percent),Honey Mustard & Onion Pieces (#4, +9percent), Pretzel Dips—Hershey’s MilkChocolate (#5, +20 percent), Sour-

dough Nibblers (#6,+1 percent), Hot Buf-falo Wing PretzelPieces (#7, +14 per-cent), and PretzelDips—Hershey’sWhite Créme (#8,+1 percent).

V8 V-Fusion + Energy Offers A Natural Energy Boost

V8 V-Fusion + Energy offers anatural boost of energy in a deliciousjuice from a trusted familiar brand.Capitalize on the V8 brand to ex-pand your energy category withjuice, the energy choice customerscan feel good about. Containing 50calories per serving and one com-bined serving of fruit and vegetables,V8 V-Fusion + Energy has no addedsugar, color, flavor or artificial preser-vatives, is an excellentsource of B vitamins, and

provides natural energy from green tea. Available in PeachMango (SLIN 247095) and Pomegranate Blueberry (SLIN247094).

Diet Coke Partners WithTaylor Swift For Special Promo Diet Coke has announced a long-term partnership withsuperstar recording artist Taylor Swift, making her a center-

piece of thebrand’siconic “StayExtraordi-nary” plat-form, whichcelebrates

the self-assured and aspirational people who enjoy Diet Coke every-day. Six-time Grammy winner Swift will serve as a program ambas-sador for several Diet Coke initiatives and will be integrated into allkey marketing efforts for the brand—including advertising, retail ac-tivation, experiential and more. In an evolution of Diet Coke’s StayExtraordinary campaign, Swift will be featured in television, print

and digital advertising scheduled to launch this spring.

The collaboration will give fans exclusive opportunitiesand extraordinary access to the star. Diet Coke’s social mediachannels will serve as a Backstage Pass, giving fans a rareglimpse into her extraordinary life and career through videos,photos and updates from Swift herself. The brand will alsoprovide special access to her highly anticipated Red Tour,

which kicks off March 13.

NOS Active EnergyDrink Provides Hydration & Energy

Coca-Cola recently introducedNOS Active Energy Drink, a hybridbeverage with all the hydrating prop-erties of a sports drink and the boostof an energy drink. NOS Active En-ergy is non-carbonated and containscaffeine from natural sources, vitamins


V8 V-Fusion + Energy offers a natural boost of energy

in a delicious juice.

NOS Active Energy is a sportsand energy drink.

Taylor Swift partners with Diet Coke to celebrate all things extraordinary.

Six of Snyder’s bestselling products are now approved in 7-Eleven.

FREE FILL ON MILKY WAY SIMPLY CARAMEL ICE CREAMBARS, 7-ELEVEN EXCLUSIVE!

New Milky Way Simply Caramel Ice Cream Bars—featuring rich,creamy caramel ice cream with a layer of thick caramel and covered with adelicious chocolate coating—will be sold exclusively in 7-Eleven stores in2013. First order date is March 4, and stores will get a free fill. OverallMars Novelty dollar sales are up 26.81 percent and units are up 22.29 per-cent, and Milky Way has been a growth contributor. Suggested Retail Priceis $1.99 and expected profit is $0.98 per bar for a 48 percent margin.



B6 and B12, and electrolytes. Available in three flavors—Açai-Blue-berry-Pomegranate, Raspberry Lemonade, and Fruit Punch—it alsocontains 20 calories per 22 oz. bottle.

Oberto All Natural Bacon Jerky TopRanked In Consumer Reports Capturing the bacon wave, Oberto’s All Natural Bacon Jerky isgiving convenience store consumers the opportunity to eat 100 per-

cent real bacon on-the-go.Oberto’s All Natural BaconJerky is made with premiumstrips of bacon and cookedto perfection. Each piece iscarefully and naturally Ap-plewood smoked to ensurethe richest, most deliciousflavor.

Consumer Reports re-cently ranked the company’s Oh Boy Oberto Original Beef Jerkyas the tastiest jerky on the market (March 2013 issue). The con-sumer watchdog magazine stated, “Oh Boy Oberto Original is atad spicy, with well-blendedsmoke, brown sugar, garlic, andfruit flavors.” According to Con-sumer Reports, which reviewedmore than a dozen beef jerkyand meat sticks, sales of beefjerky and other meat snacksare up by nearly 13 percent in the last year.

Boulder Canyon Natural Foods Chips Boulder Canyon Natu-ral Foods recently an-nounced the availability oftwo new “Better For You”snack chips in the 7-Elevenordering system: Chipotle flavored Rice &Bean Chips—Aged cheddarcheese and just the rightamount of spicy seasoningscreate a flavor that is highlightedby the adzuki beans’ subtle sweet-ness. Together with its light and

crispy texture, this artisan snack is the perfect better-for-you snack chipbecause of the adzuki bean’s natural healing and health properties. Allnatural, gluten free, zero trans fat, zero cholesterol, and non-GMO. Hummus & Sesame Chips—Infused with the perfect blend of chick-peas and spices. This unique combination makes these snacks one of akind. All natural, gluten free, zero trans fat, and zero cholesterol.

Inventure Foods IntroducesHot, New Snacks Inventure Foods recently unveiledfour new products to heat up yoursnack sales. All items are set up atMcLane and come in 6-count cases.

• NATHAN’S HOT FRIES—Nathan’sFamous brings you the same taste oftheir fries served all over the world ina delicious baked snack. Nothing like ordinary fries, these provide ahearty crunch with just the right amount of heat.

• TGI FRIDAY’S CHEESY FRIES—Experience au-thentic cheddar cheese flavor in this light crunchysnack.

• TGI FRIDAY’SONION RINGS—The savory, sweetonion ring flavor

that customers crave in a delicious,light crunchy snack. They’re flavorfuland satisfying, with zero trans fat.

• VIDALIA SWEET ONION PETALS—You don'thave to travel to Georgia to sample the SweetVidalia Onion. Vidalia Sweet Onion Petals use

real Vidalia Onions baked into acrunchy snack that delivers the true Vi-dalia flavor experience.

DjEEP Custom Classics AppealTo Car Lovers

Kretek International announced the launch of its new Cus-tom Classic Cars lighter collection from DjEEP. All five lighters inthe collection carry full color images of customized Fords andChevys from the ‘50s and ‘60s, including Mustang, Impala, andCamaro. The lighters are available on 36-count and 24-count

DjEEP displays, as well as pre-packed 108-count refillable merchandis-ers


continued next page

Oberto’s All Natural Bacon Jerky is made with premium strips of bacon.

Consumer Reports has selected OhBoy Oberto Original Beef Jerky as the

tastiest jerky on the market.

Chipotle flavored Rice & Bean Chipsand Hummus & Sesame Chips are

now approved items.

for convenience, drugand food stores. The im-ages are photos from aprivate California carcollection, surrounded byhigh-energy graphics tobroaden the interest beyond classic car purists.

DjEEP lighters are famous for their dura-bility and capacity, offering up to 4,000 lights(based on a 3-second flame). Each DjEEPlighter undergoes more than 110 points ofquality inspection, and have met child safetystandards of the Consumer Products Safety

Commission. For more information on new Custom Classics Lighters,call your Kretek representative.

Jack Link’s Launches FullTurkey Snack Lineup Jack Link’s is setting out to prove that turkey isn’t just for Thanksgiv-ing anymore with the launch of its expanded portfolio of new turkeymeat snacks. The lineup of turkey products—featuring five different of-ferings—provides snackers with high-quality choices made from realturkey. The packaging features a fresh, new color scheme using greenlettering on a white background to drive differentiation from the hearty-

beef cues conveyed in the company’s bold redand black base line packaging.

The new turkey line includes:• Jack Link’s Original Turkey Jerky—This fanfavorite provides an excellent source of protein,is 98 percent fat free, low in calories and carbs,and has no added MSG.

• Jack Link’s Oven Roasted Turkey Tender Bites—This snack has both a new look and new name. For-merly called Jack Link’s Oven Roasted TurkeyNuggets, the new “Tender Bites” moniker is moredescriptive of its easy-to-chew benefits.• Jack Link’s Original Turkey Strips—This heritageproduct offers a highly portable serving of proteinthat’s great for on-the-go snacking. • Jack Link’s Original Turkey Sticks—This con-venient, anywhere, anytime snack is unique in theworld of meat sticks. Complete with easy-to-open packaging, Jack Link’s Original TurkeySticks offer a distinct and delicious turkey taste.• Jack Link’s Turkey Snack Stick & CheeseCombos—Made with creamy smoked Wiscon-sin Cheddar cheese and savory Jack Link’sTurkey Sticks, two great flavors collide in thistasty combo pack.

New DjEEP designer lighters feature classic cars from the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Jack Link’s new turkeysnack lineup includes fivetasty options and a fresh,lighter look.continued on page 74



7-Eleven FOACPhone: 312-253-7342March 21, 2013—Board Meeting

April 4, 2013—General Meeting

April 25, 2013—Board Meeting

May 30, 2013—Board Meeting

June 13, 2013—General Meeting

June 27, 2013—Board Meeting

July 25, 2013—Board Meeting

August 22, 2013—Board Meeting

September 12, 2013—General Meeting

September 26, 2013—Board Meeting

October 24, 2013—Board Meeting

November 21, 2013—Board Meeting

December 19, 2013—Board Meeting

South Nevada/Las Vegas FOAPhone: 702-249-3301March 7, 2013—Board Meeting

March 21, 2013—General Meeting

April 11, 2013—Board Meeting

May 23, 2013—Board Meeting

June 13, 2013—Board Meeting

June 26, 2013—General Meeting

July 25, 2013—Board Meeting

August 8, 2013—Board Meeting

August 22, 2013—General Meeting

September 12, 2013—Board Meeting

October 10, 2013—Board Meeting

November 7, 2013—Board Meeting

November 21, 2013—General Meeting &

Elections

Greater Bay FOAPhone: 707-328-3960March 19, 2013

April 16, 2013

May 21, 2013

June 18, 2013

July 16, 2013

August 20, 2013

September 17, 2013

October 15, 2013

November 19, 2013

December 17, 2013

FOA Of Greater Los AngelesPhone: 619-726-9016Location: Brea Embassy Suites

March 19, 2013

April 16, 2013

May 21, 2013

June 18, 2013

August 20, 2013

September 17, 2013

October 15, 2013

November 19, 2013

Pacific Northwest FOAPhone: 253-861-6737March 20, 2013

June 12, 2013

September 18, 2013

November 6, 2013

San Francisco/Monterey BayPhone: 650-996-9479March 12, 2013

April 16, 2013

May 14, 2013

June 11, 2013

July 9, 2013

August 13, 2013

September 10, 2013

October 8, 2013

November 12, 2013

San Diego FOAPhone: 619-713-2411March 21, 2013

April 18, 2013

May 16, 2013

June 20, 2013

July 25, 2013

August 15, 2013

September 19, 2013

October 17, 2013

November 21, 2013

Metro NewJersey FOAMeetings Location: AkbarRestaurant in Edison, NJPhone: 908-232-1336April 17, 2013

July 24, 2013

October 16, 2013

November 27, 2013

Cal-Neva FOAPhone: 775-826-7111March 20, 2013

April 17, 2013

May 15, 2013

June 19, 2013

July 17, 2013

August 21, 2013

September 18, 2013

October 16, 2013

November 20, 2013

Franchise Owner’s Association Regional Board Meeting DatesThe following dates show planned regional FOA meetings. All franchisees and vendors are invited. To attend, please call or e-mail ahead to verify meeting dates, times and locations.

Play The Name Game!Look carefully at each page in this

issue. Somewhere in this

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hidden that con-

tains the words

$Name Game

Winner + person’s name + city$. If

you find this line, and if it contains

your name, call AVANTI’s Offices at

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NCASEF Members only. This issue’s

total: $100.

Anheuser Busch ...................................13Aon Risk Services Southwest ..............54Bazooka/topps ......................................73Coca-Cola......................................cover2Dean Foods ...........................................14Dr Pepper Snapple .................................6Duracell.................................................34Ferrero Nutella......................................29Fuma .....................................................75Go Picnic ...............................................77Heineken ...............................................10Hershey.................................................25Hot 'N Spicy...........................................55Inventure Foods....................................58Johnson & Johnson ..............................65Johnsonville Sausage ...................42-43Just Born Inc.........................................21Kellogg's .................................................5Kimberly Clark......................................69

Kretek International ...............61, cover 4Logic Ecig .......................................40-41Mars Chocolate.....................................19Mars Ice Cream ....................................17Maruchan..............................................51McLane .................................................38Mondelez...............................................67National Tobacco ..................................49Nestle Confections and Snacks ...........44Nestle Professional ..............................23Perfetti Van Mele ..................................27Precise Nutrition...................................46Shamrock..............................................36Simply Orange ....................................8-9Swedish Match .................................7, 33Unilever...........................................3,4,37Whitewave Foods..................................30Wrigley..........................................cover 3

Advertisers Index

According to a 2012 Hartman Group survey, 52percent of all eating occasions among American con-sumers were snacking occasions. Additionally, 57 per-cent of survey respondents believe it’s very importantthat the foods they snack on are healthy. In harmonywith consumer sentiment, the new Jack Link’s turkeylineup, thanks to the brand’s first-ever “lighter look”motif packaging, brings more attention to the specificaspects that make turkey an attractive snack option. Dedicated marketing support equipped Jack Link’sfor a successful product line debut. Most notably, the brand

created two new “Snackin’ WithSasquatch” TV spots titled “Camou-flage” and “Book Club,” both of whichfocus on the brand’s turkey offerings. Ad-ditional marketing initiatives aimed atbuilding excitement surrounding the prod-ucts include online advertising, consumersampling, a variety of versatile in-storemerchandising display offerings, and prod-uct coupons.


Turkey Jerky and Turkey Tender Bites arehigh protein and low-carb.


San Francisco/Monterey BayFOA Golf Tournament(location to be announced)June 3, 2013Phone: 510-754-1113

San Diego FOA

Annual Charity Golf TournamentSalt Creek Golf CourseChula Vista, CaliforniaJune 6, 2013Phone: 619-713-2411

Central Florida FOA Trade Show(location to be announced)June 11, 2013Phone: 913-940-3088

Greater Bay FOA Trade Show(location to be announced)June 13, 2013Phone: 707-328-3960

Greater Bay FOA

Golf Tournament(location to be announced)June 14, 2013Phone: 707-328-3960

FOA Of Greater Los Angeles

Golf TournamentBlack Gold Golf ClubYorba Linda, CaliforniaJune 19, 2013Phone: 619-726-9016

Virginia FOA

Convention & Trade Show(location to be announced)June 20, 2013Phone: 540-270-7934

Metro New Jersey FOA Picnic(location and date to be finalized)June 23 or 30, 2013Phone: 908-232-1336

Metro New Jersey FOA

Annual Golf Outing(location to be announced)June 27, 2013Phone: 908-232-1336

Tucson FOA

Golf TournamentThe Ritz Carlton—Dove MountainTucson, ArizonaJune 28, 2013Phone: 520-906-8691

Columbia Pacific FOA

John Wilkerson GolfTournament(location to be announced)Portland, OregonAugust 2, 2013Phone: 503-984-1398

Pacific Northwest FOA

Charity Golf TournamentHarbour Pointe Golf ClubMukilteo, WashingtonAugust 13, 2013Phone: 253-861-6737

Southern California FOA

Golf Tournament(location to be announced)Pasadena, CaliforniaAugust 14, 2013Phone: 818-366-1948

Cal-Neva FOA

Lou Magnotti Golf Classic(location to be announced)August 16, 2013Phone: 775-826-7111

7-Eleven FOAC

Annual Golf Outing(location to be announced)August 28, 2013Phone: 312-253-7342

South Nevada/Las Vegas FOA

Charity Golf TournamentDesert Pines Golf CourseLas Vegas, NevadaSeptember 20, 2013Phone: 702-769-2301

Baltimore FOA

Charity GolfTournamentLittle Bennett Golf CourseBaltimore, MarylandSeptember 25, 2013Phone: 410-218-2939


Trade Show(location and date to be finalized)Atlantic City, New JerseyNovember 6-7 or 13-14, 2013Phone: 908-232-1336

7-Eleven FOAC

Holiday Trade Show & PartyHoliday Inn North ShoreSkokie, IllinoisNovember 6, 2013Phone: 312-253-7342

Greater Bay FOA

Holiday Party(location to be announced)December 6, 2013Phone: 707-328-3960

South Nevada/Las Vegas FOA

Table Top Trade Show &

Holiday Party(location to be announced)December 6, 2013Phone: 702-769-2301


Holiday Party(location and date to be finalized)December 6 or 13, 2013Phone: 908-232-1336


Christmas Party & Trade Show(location to be announced)December 7, 2013Phone: 253-861-6737

Baltimore FOA

Holiday Party 2013(location to be announced)Baltimore, MarylandDecember 12, 2013Phone: 410-218-2939

foa events C O NT I N U E D f r o m p a g e 7 8

San Francisco/Monterey Bay FOA

The Guardian Trade ShowSanta Clara MarriottSanta Clara, CaliforniaMarch 9, 2013Phone: 510-754-1113

Eastern Virginia FOA

The Virginia Beach Trade showVirginia Beach Convention CenterVirginia Beach, VirginiaMarch 21, 2013Phone: 757-506-5926

Delaware Valley FOA

Greater Philadelphia Trade ShowSheraton Suites Philadelphia AirportPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaApril 2, 2013Phone: 610-306-7119


Annual Trade ShowEmbassy SuitesSeattle, WashingtonApril 18, 2013Phone: 253-861-6737

Columbia Pacific FOA

Trade ShowDouble Tree at Lloyd CenterPortland, OregonApril 19, 2013Phone: 503-984-1398

TriState FOSE Association

Annual Trade ShowMartins WestBaltimore, MarylandApril 24, 2013Phone: 301-572-6811

South Nevada/Las Vegas FOAPicnic & Trade ShowCashman CenterLas Vegas, NevadaApril 25, 2013Phone: 702-769-2301

Northern California FOA & Central Valley FOA

Joint Trade Show(location to be announced)May 3, 2013Phone: 916-782-4144

Chesapeake Bay FOA

Trade ShowVirginia Beach Convention CenterVirginia Beach, VirginiaMay 6, 2013Phone: 757-362-2236

7-Eleven FOAC

Annual Trade ShowOdeum Expo CenterVilla Park, IllinoisMay 16, 2013Phone: 312-253-7342

Southern California FOA

Annual Trade ShowPasadena Convention CenterPasadena, CaliforniaMay 22, 2013Phone: 818-357-5985

foa events

Join the National Coalition Board of Direc-tors at a meeting in your area. MemberFranchisees are welcome to attend BoardMeetings as observers. Call 520-577-8711 for exact times, meeting locationand hotel phone number.

National Coalition

Board Of Directors MeetingNew Orleans MarriottNew Orleans, LouisianaMay 9-11, 2013

NCASEFboardmeetings

National Coalition

Board Of Directors MeetingThe Venetian Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaJuly 12-14, 2013

National Coalition

38th Annual Convention

And Trade ShowThe Venetian Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaJuly 14-18, 2013

National Coalition

Affiliate MeetingLaguna Cliffs MarriottDana Point, CaliforniaOctober 22-23, 2013

National Coalition

Board Of Directors MeetingLaguna Cliffs MarriottDana Point, CaliforniaOctober 24-26, 2013



Las Vegas! July14-18Trade Show: July 17-18

C O NT I N U E D o n p a g e 7 6

january/february 2013 t h e v o the franchise...

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