By Nat Keller

JOHANNESBURG and CAPE TOWN, South Africa – With a population of 53 million, 11 official languages and more than 1,500 miles of coastline, South Africa is one of the most diverse and vibrant countries in the world. As attendees of the 2016 NACS Global Forum quickly discovered, that diversity and vibrancy also aptly describes the country’s convenience and fuel retailing industry as well.

From March 6–10, convenience and fuel retailers from around the world and NACS Global Supplier Council members participated in a thought-provoking and energizing NACS Global Forum in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Featuring local store tours, interactive discussions, inspiring presentations and plenty of networking, attendees had an action-packed agenda to engage, learn and explore a new and emerging convenience market.

The program began with an assortment of store tours in Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, which included visits to Fresh Stop, Engen, Food Lovers, Woolworth’s and Checkers. Consistency and fresh food were themes throughout.

Attendees also enjoyed an inspiring presentation from Bonang Mohale, chairman of Shell South Africa, who provided insight into global societal and political issues, while also touching on South Africa’s current state. Mohale noted the resiliency of the South African people, announcing, “This, too, shall pass,” referring to the current economic and political struggles the country faces.

Dave Hogg, director at FreshStop, shared a case study of his rapidly growing company. With 220 FreshStop stores spanning South Africa, the company has fostered strong partnerships and is focused on consistency, fresh food and customer service. The company plans to continue its growth trajectory by expanding deeper into Africa in coming years. 

In Cape Town, the Global Forum program continued with J.P. Landman, a political and trend analyst from South Africa. Landman delivered a lively overview of the South African political, societal and economic market. “The South African market is unique, yet the challenges faced by retailers are typical of those in every market around the world,” he observed.

With a focus on foodservice, Darren Tristano, president of Technomic Inc., cited examples of leading convenience retailers and encouraged attendees to “tell your food story” and “create an emotional connection with your customer through foodservice.” Tristano noted there has been increased consumer demand for better quality foods, specialized foods and healthier foods—all areas in which retailers can capitalize.

Adam Brumberg, deputy director of the Cornell Food and Brands Lab at Cornell University, discussed how retailers can better position themselves by understanding the psychology behind consumer food purchasing decisions and using innovative, low-cost techniques. "If folks walk into your store and don’t see healthy items, they won’t buy them,” Brumberg stated as he encouraged retailers to make healthy items noticeably available.  

“Your job is to change people’s perception of what a convenience store is,” Brumberg said. “Roller dogs taste better in a ballpark because of perception—and you can change that perception of what is available through your display,” said Brumberg.

Prahar Shah, head of business development at DoorDash, a last-mile food delivery service company, described the evolution of his company and discussed different types of business models for last mile delivery, including how his company has begun testing partnerships with 7-Eleven, CVS and Walgreens. Attendees then participated in an interactive table discussion of the last mile and the convenience industry, expressing both concern and optimism for last-mile delivery and agreeing that the industry cannot afford to be absent on this emerging business topic.

The Global Forum program continued with in-depth case studies from several companies:

• Patricia Mahlangu, retail convenience manager with Engen Petroleum Limited, discussed the continuous journey of her company, and how it partners with leading brands that can provide services that their company may not have.
• Mohamed Carrim, general manager, retail and property for Sasol South Africa, showed how a large energy company can be entrepreneurial by exploring new and different retail options.
• Andreas Nagel, global convenience retail business and alliance development with Shell International Petroleum Company Limited, shared how Shell chooses partner brands based on shopper missions.

Attendees also heard more on alternative franchise models from Jeronimo Jose Merlo Dos Santos, retail and marketing director of Ipiranga Productos de Petroleo S/A; Markus Laenzlingler, CEO of Migrolino AG; and Magnar Mokkelgard, vice president of Reitan Convenience AS. The panelists provided insights into their own franchise models, while fielding questions from the audience. Several themes emanated throughout the discussion, including the importance of finding the right franchisee, creating incentives for franchisees and lowering the franchise cost of entry.

On the final day of the Global Forum, attendees gained insights on an American convenience retailer, RaceTrac Petroleum Inc., presented by Robby Posener, vice president of marketing, merchandise, design & construction; and J. Gilmore, vice president of Raceway. The duo began with an overview of their company and the differences between the two brands: Raceway and RaceTrac. “With Raceway, the operator is controlling the store experience, whereas with RaceTrac there’s a level of consistency across all stores,” said Gilmore.

While in Cape Town, attendees visited local stores: a BP/Pick n Pay, Engen/Woolworth, SPAR and Food Lover’s market.

The program wrapped up with a lengthy discussion on regulations and their influence on the convenience and fuel industry worldwide. Three supplier companies discuss global regulations on sugar, alcohol and tobacco:

• David Coleman, vice president of public affairs Europe with Mars Inc., noted that “it’s not a global war on sugar, but rather a global war on obesity, and sugar is the current battlefront.”
• Emilio Carbone, global director, in-home consumption at Anheuser-Busch InBev, discussed the trends around alcohol regulations resulting from drunk driving and pointed to current regulations that ban alcohol advertising in several countries.
• Neetesh Ramjee, director corporate affairs for South Africa at Philip Morris International, noted that tobacco regulations are moving faster and showing a lot of creep, especially with display bans.

The 2017 NACS Global Forum will take place in Tokyo, Japan. For more on the NACS Global Forum and other NACS global events, visit nacsonline.com/global.

Nat Keller is the NACS director of marketing. He can be reached at (703) 518-4237 or nkeller@nacsonline.com.