Sheetz to open 30 units in 2015 as convenience store channel continues to expand

Alexandria, Va. -- The ranks of the nation’s convenience stores continue to grow, increasing to 152,794 stores at year end, up nearly 1% from the year prior, according to the 2015 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Industry Store Count. And 2015 is expected to be another busy year: Pennsylvania-based Sheetz plans to open 30 locations in 2015. The chain, which recently opened its 500th location, has said it now sees the potential to double in size.



In addition, Sheetz is testing a 15,000-sq.-ft. grocery store and café concept aimed at college students in Morgantown, West Virginia. More than triple the size of a traditional Sheetz, the new location has indoor and outdoor seating for 100 people. It is located on the ground floor of University Place, a new mixed-use residential and retail complex a few blocks from West Virginia University's downtown campus.



Convenience stores account for 33.9% of all U.S. retail outlets, significantly higher than the U.S. total of other retail channels including drug stores (41,799 stores), supermarket/supercenter (41,529 stores) and dollar stores (26,572 stores), according to the study.



Among the states, Texas continues to lead in store count with 15,434 stores. The rest of the top 10 states for convenience stores are California (11,403), Florida (9,810), New York (8,247), Georgia (6,766), North Carolina (6,301), Ohio (5,539), Michigan, (4,907), Illinois (4,670) and Pennsylvania (4,604), which nudged Virginia out of the top 10.



The convenience retailing industry has roughly doubled in size over the last three decades. At year-end 1984, the store count was 85,300 stores, at year-end 1994 the store count was 98,200 stores and at year-end 2004 the store count was 138,205 stores.