Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 names big players in petroleum/convenience channel subway

BP's ampm convenience store was ranked 51st in Entrepreneur magazine’s 28th annual Franchise 500. ampm is the only c-store owned by an oil and gas company to make the list, although 7-Eleven, Inc., Dallas, was No. 4, and the list also included many quick-serve restaurants and foodservice companies that are established players in the petroleum/convenience channel, as NPN MarketPulse discovered in scrolling through the list.

Here is the complete top 10:

  1. Subway
  2. Dunkin' Donuts
  3. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service
  4. 7-Eleven
  5. The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc.
  6. Domino's Pizza
  7. Jiffy Lube
  8. Sonic Drive In Restaurants
  9. McDonald's
  10. Papa John's
Hot Stuff Foods, Sioux Falls, S.D., a marketer of fast-food systems formerly known as Orion Food Systems, placed 52nd on the list. Super Wash, Morrison, Ill., a marketer of coin-operated, self-serve, brushless automatic carwashes, placed 121st.

Entrepreneur magazine noted that Subway, Milford, Conn., won the top spot for the 15th straight year, and attributed that winning streak in part to “the growth of Subway’s more than 6,000 nontraditional locations in places like c-stores, hospitals, schools and even inside retail stores such as Wal-Mart.”

Companies are judged based on criteria including financial strength and stability, growth rate, system size and number of years in business. Entrepreneur magazine published the rankings in its December 2006 issue.

As for ampm, the company’s "Vision" store format offers expanded choice of fountain drinks, coffees and foods, increased targeted ethnic product selection and increased selling space at the cooler and checkout counter, according to ampm’s Web site.

The stores also feature a "To Go" dispenser area where customers can choose from baked, grilled and chilled edibles such as salads, fruit cups and sandwiches. Another section contains hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches.

"BP is honored that ampm was selected to be part of the Franchise 500," said Ben Amante, vice president of franchising for BP. "The brand operates successfully in the Western U.S. and internationally, and by introducing an ampm-branded franchise in the Eastern U.S., we're leveraging our significant ampm franchising experience and market recognition. We see great growth potential in the future."

The ampm brand was founded in 1978 in Southern California by ARCO, which was acquired by BP in 2000. ampm is found in the Western U.S. in California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington and Oregon, with franchisees owning and/or operating about 1,000 ampm-branded convenience retail stores. Internationally, about 2,000 ampm stores are located in Brazil, Japan and Mexico. BP is selling ampm franchises in the Eastern U.S. in South Florida, Chicago, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh marketing areas. While similar, the Eastern and Western U.S. ampm franchise offers are distinct from one another and subject to separate franchise documentation, according to BP.

BP markets gasoline to U.S. consumers through 13,000 retail outlets. BP is the single, global brand formed by the combination of the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corporation, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol.