SYDNEY – The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Caltex is undergoing a plan to reinvent convenience retailing, with the Australia service stations selling ready-made meals and bottles of wine, to possibly offering online purchases, dry cleaning and even haircuts.
“Caltex is close to finalizing plans to become a major retail force by augmenting its store network and supply chain infrastructure with new digital platforms, acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures.
You'll start to see different aspects of the new convenience concept over the next 12 to 18 months,” writes the news source.
Julian Segal, Caltex CEO, commented that the company wants to lead the market in evolving the convenience offer and delivering the everyday needs of customers. He also said the retailer has no intention of competing directly with supermarket chains Coles or Woolworths, Caltex's fuel partner (Caltex cut ties with U.S. parent company Chevron in 2015).
"By definition we will not be competing with the big supermarkets. The size of our stores means we're going to focus on what the customer wants on the way to work or on the way home ... but there's a lot there we can provide," Segal told the news source. "It's not necessarily all about groceries. It could be many other items," he added, citing services such as haircuts, dry cleaning and delivery of online purchases.
"We are looking at what is really important to the customer; what are the most valuable things from a customer perspective, from a convenience point of view," Segal continued.
The new source notes that Caltex's ambition is encapsulated in a new corporate catchphrase, Freedom of Convenience.
"Convenience is not just in terms of what traditional convenience used to be. In our case it used to be delivering fuel and basic goods and tobacco," Segal said. "The role of convenience in customers' lives is significantly wider than that."
Caltex's network of more than 2,000 locations attracts three million customers a week and generates convenience retail sales of $1.2 billion. The company plans to create a fresh-food supply chain, either independently or in conjunction with partners, a digital platform for online ordering and a new loyalty program, writes the news source.