Caltex’s magazine for employees, franchisees & resellers
Issue 46 Dec – Jan 09
Article Highlights
New 21CC Star Marts being rolled out by the end of December include sites in Abbotsford and Hillside in Melbourne, Luddenham in Sydney and Taree and Port Macquarie on the NSW north coast with plans to open 21CC stores in Queensland and Western Australia next year.
In this issue:
Convenience stores of the 21st century
Proud retailers Kevin Essen (left) store manager and Ben Elliott, assistant store manager at the recent opening of the 21CC Taree site.
As convenience retailing undergoes changes around the world, Australia’s number one convenience retailer Caltex is introducing a different look, layout and product range with its new-style '21CC' Star Marts.
After being successfully trialled for the past year in six stores in NSW, the 21CC concept will now be introduced around Australia as new Star Marts are built. In time, it will be rolled out across the 600-strong Caltex Star Mart convenience store network.
“We’re evolving our convenience stores to meet our customers changing needs and lifestyles,” says Caltex National Manager Retail Leo Pucar “People are time-poor, under pressure with long work hours and both partners working – they value convenience more than ever.”
Leo says that the trend here and overseas is for convenience stores to become more of a destination for fresh food and ready to heat meals. This is reflected in Caltex’s 21CC Healthier Options offer with its expanded range of chilled goods and products such as pre-packaged meals, yoghurts, fruit juices and vitamin enhanced waters, dried fruit, nuts and salads.
There is an emphasis on convenience in the 21CC store layout, too. “We’ve moved away from traditional aisles to display carousels, removed advertising displays from the roof and included video screens, installed separate male and female toilets and widened the queuing area in front of the checkout,” says Leo.
The 21CC stores will all have the same basic core components, but it will have a tiered offer, with the quantity and mix of products widened or reduced to match local customer demographics.
New 21CC Star Marts being rolled out by the end of December include sites in Abbotsford and Hillside in Melbourne, Luddenham in Sydney and Taree and Port Macquarie on the NSW north coast with plans to open 21CC stores in Queensland and Western Australia next year.