Avanti May/June 2018 by Avanti Magazine

support its growing retail portfolio with the help of Chicago-based Seyfarth Shaw LLP. As a result, SEI was able to “implement value-based sourcing and staﬃng by realigning workflow to create a hybrid insourced/outsourced model that moves low-cost work such as title and survey review to Seyfarth Shaw’s real estate hub in Atlanta.” Seyfarth Shaw further used proprietary technology to create a dedicated 7-Eleven website that streamlines communications among the legal department and more than 100 real-estate professionals. In eight months, SEI was able to re- “In eight duce its total outmonths, SEI side counsel spend was able to by 19 percent in reduce its real estate. Outside counsel fees for total outside new-store developcounsel ment decreased by spend by 19 13 percent year over year, and newpercent in store deal fallreal estate.” through rates declined from 25 percent to near 1 percent. By transferring four contract specialists from another department to work as paralegals and hiring a new real-estate transactional attorney and dispute attorney, SEI reduced its outside counsel spend for the real estate transactional part of the work by 68 percent year over year.

SEI’s Delgado-Jenkins Retires SEI Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Oﬃcer Jesus Delgado-Jenkins recently announced his retirement, saying he wants to spend more time with his family, reported CSNews Online. Delgado-Jenkins joined SEI in 2010 as senior 16

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vice president of merchandising and logistics aer SEI acquired his MHC Convenience business, which operated 16 Mother Hubbard's Cupboard convenience stores. Since he joined SEI, the company has significantly improved its new product innovation, including hundreds of exclusive, new-to-market, national brand products. Delgado-Jenkins credited these innovations to the creativity and passion of his teams and supplier partners, the article stated.

Study On Frequent C-Store Customers Frequent convenience store customers, defined as 28 percent of fuel purchasers who shop “daily” or “multiple times per week” at a c-store, are more likely to hold favorable opinions of their local store, as well as respond positively to new products and foodservice oﬀers, according to a new NACS report, “ree Insights on Frequent Convenience Store Customers.” By contrast, rare shoppers are defined as the 37 percent of fuel purchasers who shop a convenience store either “less than once or twice per month” or “never.” ese consumers may view a convenience store as a place for fuel only, and may have an unfavorable perception of the convenience store industry overall. e report also reveals several broad insights relating to frequent convenience store shoppers: they drive significantly more per week than rare shoppers; they continued on page 18

Fuel brand 76 recently launched Mobile Pay in Los Angeles, a new payment feature in its My 76 app that allows customers to pay both at the pump or in-store on their mobile devices. The company said it will roll out Mobile Pay regionally throughout the year. • Electrify America announced that it will be installing ultra-fast electric vehicle chargers at more than 100 retail, convenience and refueling locations across the U.S., including Sheetz, Inc., Casey’s General Stores Inc., and Global Partners LP’s Alltown. • Employees at a Burgerville store in Portland, Oregon recently voted to become the ﬁrst oﬃcially recognized fast-food workers union in the country, reported NACS Online. The Burgerville Workers Union is now set to start negotiations with management and hopes to raise hourly employee wages $5 an hour. • According to a new survey by Adtaxi, 66 percent of respondents make an online purchase at least once a month and over half (52 percent) of ecommerce shoppers spend as much, or more, of their dollars online than in-store. • Wawa recently opened its 800th store, located in Wilmington, Delaware, reported ABC-6 News Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania-based convenience chain said it plans to open 50 stores this year throughout the mid-Atlantic and Florida. • Walmart has ended its Mobile Scan & Go program, which it launched in around 150 locations, after it proved too confusing for many shoppers, reported the Chicago Tribune. The technology allowed shoppers to scan and pay using a handheld device or smartphone. • Starbucks recently closed more than 8,000 of its company-owned stores to give employees classes on how to avoid the kind of racial bias that many say led to the arrests of two continued on page 20