New category allocation, what lies ahead for the back bar, and category over contracts, were topics discussed in the retailer panel session Sept. 11 at CSP’s Tobacco Plus Forum in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Regarding new category allocation for the back bar, when it comes to other tobacco products (OTP), Peter Frattarola Sr., senior category manager at La Plata, Maryland-based Wills Group, operator of the Dash In convenience-store chain and the Splash In ECO Car Wash locations, said Dash In is looking to elevate e-cigarettes positioning to maximize the potential benefits of new items.
- The Wills Group Inc./Dash In is No. 120 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned stores.
“We’re going to put that next to combustible cigarettes,” he said.
Frattarola Sr. said that it has been “tough” to be a responsible c-store retailer and perform on a high level in the OTP category as a result of the lack of new or approved OTP products.
He said he is open to nurturing as “many existing nicotine pouches brands as possible. I don’t think we know who the number two is yet in the nicotine pouch space, so I’m open and willing to try as many brands as possible.”
Frattarola Sr. said Dash In is looking to place legacy categories and brands with negative future outlooks in low visibility locations. “Our new strategy capitalizes on the short-term and long-term expected performance of tobacco while enabling us to diversify and be flexible if needed,” he said, which includes “reducing cigarette space by 33%.”
When it comes to a winning strategy, he said it is important to adjust to the new macroenvironment and be value oriented for the customer. “We must be more thoughtful than ever to accommodate a customer with lower disposable income,” Frattarola Sr.
Space evolution was also a topic of discussion during the retailer panel.
Leslie Edmiston, senior category manager of Wawa, Wawa, Pennsylvania, said that from the early days of vapor to the introduction of pod-based vaping and now to the “explosion” of nicotine pouches, space remains an “ongoing challenge.”
- Wawa is No. 9 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned stores.
“Alternative nicotine dominates growth,” she said.
Edmiston spoke about hot topics in the tobacco category including safety of associates, responsible innovation and more emphasis on category versus contracts.
He referenced contracts and how to navigate these moving forward. “Category over contracts is something that Wawa really wants to move towards, she said. “We want to start making more decisions that are more category and customer driven.
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