News - Article

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Circle K stores NE Ohio to be sold

Source: Cleveland Business Journal

By Mary Vanac, Staff Reporter

Two Circle K Stores in Northeast Ohio are among 269 in the United States and Canada being sold by their Canadian owner because they no longer fit its strategic objectives.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. in Quebec has hired NRC Realty & Capital Advisors in Chicago to sell Circle K convenience store/gas station properties in Kent and Painesville, as well as at 267 other sites in 29 states and Canada, the owner said in a statement.

The other Ohio stores to be sold are in Upper Sandusky, Toledo, Niles, Warren, New Concord, West Jefferson and Bexley, as well as three stores in Columbus, NRC Realty said in a statement.

The stores are being offered in three packages based on geography, NRC said.

"We expect great interest from a wide range of retailers, large and small, as well as other players who have expressed active interest," said Evan Gladstone, NRC's executive managing director, in a statement.

Expressions of interest to buy the stores must be received via NRC's Circle K sale website by May 7, the realty said.

"The decision to divest select stores fits within the company’s network-optimization strategy and follows a comprehensive and uniform network planning process that began in the Fall of 2020," said Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Couche-Tard, in a statement.

"Through this process, we have identified sites that no longer fit our strategic objectives, either from a brand perspective or from a regional scale perspective," Hannasch said.

Quebec-based Couche-Tard also has "identified many opportunities to expand our footprint through new store builds," Hannasch said.

The Canadian store owner will "continue to allocate capital to upgrade the size and scale of our locations, improve store layouts and allow for the best utilization of our Fresh Food, Fast program as well as other initiatives, which improve the customer journey," he said.

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To see a list of convenience stores and gas stations for sale, click here.