Bouchard has spent the past three years acquiring "gas bar" (gas station) chains across North America. Ambition has been the hallmark of his strategy, said the report, and he now runs a network of almost 6,000 outlets, making it the [image-nocss] biggest chain in Canada and second only to 7-Eleven in the United States.
But during the past 18 months, when soaring gasoline prices were eating into Couche-Tard's margins and recession was playing havoc with consumer spending, Bouchard's greatest strength may have been his restraint, the report said. Even with the market crash depressing company valuations, he resisted calls to swing for the fences and replicate his stunning acquisition of more than 1,600 Circle K convenience stores across the United States for some $1 billion in 2003.
That discipline is winning kudos. "Of all the companies that have retail south of the border, this has been the only one that's successful, and it's because of management," BMO Capital Markets retail analyst David Hartley told the news service. "They don't take unnecessary risks. There are a tremendous number of assets out there and if you just wanted to satisfy the market's hunger for growth you can go buy them. One day they can turn on you if you didn't make the right acquisitions."
In the longer term, Bouchard is looking to grow Couche-Tard's network to 12,000 stores, though he does not have a timetable for hitting this target. "I would like to do it tomorrow if the opportunity was there," he said in a recent interview with The Financial Post. "We will take the time it takes. It could be in five years, it could take 10. I think by doubling our size, we would be covering the market. But expansion would also take place elsewhere, in Europe and Asia."
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard currently operates a network of 5,906 c-stores which include 4,122 motor fuel dispensing, located in 11 large geographic markets, including eight in the United States covering 43 states and three in Canada covering all 10 provinces. The company operates under the Couche-Tard, Mac's, Circle K and On the Run banners and employs more than 52,000 people.
Its fiscal 2009 total revenues exceeded $15.7 billion with net earnings of $254 million representing a 34% increase than the previous year. Revenues were $3.7 billion in its fiscal first-quarter 2010, down 14.9% because of low fuel prices. But net earnings for the quarter increased to $91 million from $47.2 million the same period last year.
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