LAVAL, Quebec -- Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard achieved its 12th straight quarter of improving its expenses-to-merchandise/service sales ratio, a feat company executives said is now part of the company culture and something they expect to continue.
"This performance reflects our constant effort to find ways to improve our efficiency while making certain that we maintain the quality of the service we offer to our clients," said CFO Raymond Pare during a recent earnings conference call with analysts. "Our decentralized business model, as well as our organizational culture, are clearly a factor allowing us to be one of the most efficient operators of our industry."
Couche-Tard is the parent company of the Circle K convenience-store chain in the United States.
During the recently ended third quarter of Couche-Tard's fiscal 2012, the company reported expenses of 30.2% of the total merchandise and service sales, down from 30.8% in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
"This ratio has been improving for the last 12 quarters," Pare said. "It is a clear demonstration of the value added by our benchmarking process."
CEO Alain Bouchard said paring back expenses "is almost a tradition for us."
"Cost control is really an integral part of Couche-Tard's culture," he said. "Imagine, some of my colleagues are constantly monitoring and benchmarking levels of expenditures throughout the corporation to make sure that we maintain a satisfyinglevel of efficiency. I'm really impressed by their work, and I am equally impressed by the reaction of our teams in the field that take any improvement opportunity thrown at them and make them happen."
Pare added that more opportunity exists to maintain the incremental improvements
"Our approach will continue, and we will do what we can to maintain and improve the efficiency," he said. "For the last three years we've been doing it on a consistent basis, and we still have some opportunity in front of us. We're very optimistic around this, and we hope to be able to maintain the same trend going forward."
As of Jan. 29, 2012, Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. had a network of 5,817 convenience stores, 4,225 of which include motor-fuel dispensing. It also has agreements for the supply of motor fuel to 338 sites operated by independent operators. Couche-Tard's network consists of 13 business units, including nine in the United States covering 42 states and the District of Columbia, and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces. The stores operate under three main brands--Couche-Tard and Mac's in Canada and Circle K in the United States.
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