Convenience Store Business Plan Template

Convenience Store Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Convenience Store business plan.

We have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their convenience stores.

Below is a template to help you create each section of a business plan for your convenience store.

Executive Summary

Business Overview

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store is a new convenience store located in Lansing, Michigan. The business is a newly established convenience store set up by its founder, Pete McGee. As a longtime retailer and employee of various convenience stores throughout Lansing, Pete realized that the small suburb that he resides in has grown too quickly to meet the demand of the area residents. There is an intersection that Pete has identified to be without a convenience store within 5 miles.

For the past ten years, Pete has been the area manager for 6 convenience stores for a locally-owned brand. Through his promotion, Pete oversaw the store managers and made sure each store was profitable, well stocked, and had the proper staff in place. Through his knowledge and training, Pete is well-equipped to be able to open his own convenience store and manage it properly.

Speedy Pete’s will offer gas as well as a car wash and air machine for tires. The store itself will offer alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, basic groceries, and ready-made coffee, donuts, and hot food. It will be the perfect stop for the area residents to stop in and purchase their products without having to go out of their way.

 

Product Offering

The following are the products that Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will provide:

• Gas
• Car Wash
• Air Machine
• Non-alcoholic beverages
• Beer and Wine
• Basic Groceries
• Snacks
• Beverage Machine
• Freshly Made Hot Coffee
• Freshly Made Donuts/Cookies
• Freshly Made Hot Food (hot dogs, burritos, sandwiches)

 

Customer Focus

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will target all residents residing in southeastern Lansing and commuters traveling through the area. The customers will come from all demographics and ages.

 

Management Team

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will be owned and operated by Pete McGee. As a former area manager that oversaw 6 convenience stores in the area, Pete is able to open, train his employees, and ensure that the convenience store will run smoothly and efficiently. He is exceptionally knowledgeable in monitoring profit margins and ensuring the store is profitable.

Pete McGee has worked in the retail industry for most of his life. He has worked in convenience stores, home improvement stores, and large retailers. For the past ten years, Pete has been the area manager for 6 convenience stores for a locally-owned brand. Through his promotion, Pete oversaw the store managers and made sure each store was profitable, well stocked, and had the proper staff in place. Pete was exceptional at his job as he was able to monitor profit margins and teach his store managers which products to keep on the shelves and which products to get rid of. Through his knowledge and training, Pete is well-equipped to be able to open his own convenience store and manage it properly.

 

Success Factors

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Ideal location – there is not a convenience store within 5 miles of the newly developed neighborhood
• Large selection of snacks, beverages, and freshly made items
• The gas to be sold is from the highest quality gas distributor

 

Financial Highlights

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store is seeking $400,000 in debt financing to open the convenience store. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the land, funding the construction, and purchasing the initial inventory. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, utilities, and marketing costs for the convenience store. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Purchase 0.5 acre of retail land located at an intersection: $100,000
• Construction and build-out of the small convenience store: $100,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $40,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store.

 

Company Overview

Who is Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store?

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store is a new convenience store located in Lansing, Michigan. The business is a newly established convenience store set up by its founder, Pete McGee. As a longtime retailer and employee of various convenience stores throughout Lansing, Pete realized that the small suburb that he resides in has grown too quickly to meet the demand of the area residents. There is an intersection that Pete has identified to be without a convenience store within 5 miles. The city just put up a traffic light because the traffic has increased significantly within the past two years. The intersection is at the bottom of a newly developed neighborhood so the convenience store will be passed by its residents multiple times throughout the day and will be accessible through two points of entry.

 

Pete McGee has worked in the retail industry for most of his life. He has worked in convenience stores, home improvement stores, and large retailers. For the past ten years, Pete has been the area manager for 6 convenience stores for a locally-owned brand. Through his promotion, Pete oversaw the store managers and made sure each store was profitable, well stocked, and had the proper staff in place. Pete was exceptional at his job as he was able to monitor profit margins and teach his store managers which products to keep on the shelves and which products to get rid of. Through his knowledge and training, Pete is well-equipped to be able to open his own convenience store and manage it properly.

Speedy Pete’s will offer gas as well as a car wash and air machine for tires. The store itself will offer alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, basic groceries, and ready-made coffee, donuts, and hot food. It will be the perfect stop for the area residents to stop in and purchase their products without having to go out of their way.

 

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store History

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store is owned and operated by Pete McGee. Pete is a former convenience store employee, manager, and area manager. He has experience in monitoring profit margins, managing employees, and managing inventories.

Since incorporation, Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store, LLC to transact business in the state of Michigan.
• Has contracts in place for his gas, grocery, and drink suppliers.
• Contacted an architectural and construction firm to begin the design and construction of the convenience store.
• Began recruiting a staff of employees to help him with the day to day operations.

 

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store Products

The following will be the products Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will provide:

• Gas
• Car Wash
• Air Machine
• Non-alcoholic beverages
• Beer and Wine
• Basic Groceries
• Snacks
• Beverage Machine
• Freshly Made Hot Coffee
• Freshly Made Donuts/Cookies
• Freshly Made Hot Food (hot dogs, burritos, sandwiches)

 

Industry Analysis

 

 

Customer Analysis

Demographic Profile of Target Market

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will target all residents of Lansing Michigan. The target market will consist of area residents, students, and employees working in the area.

The precise demographics for Lansing, Michigan are:

• 1,006,032 residents
• 560,000 households
• 584 schools
• 300,084 area businesses
• 3 major highways within 20 miles

 

Customer Segmentation

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Residents living in the area
• Employees working in the area
• Students
• Retirees
• Travelers driving through Lansing

 

Competitive Analysis

Direct and Indirect Competitors

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Speed Demon Convenience Stores

Speed Demon is a gasoline-convenience store brand that has over 3,500 stores across the country. They service over 2 million customers everyday and offer a robust rewards program where customers are able to earn discounts on gas and products by being a frequent shopper. The stores include a Speedy Cafe that is a fast-casual dining option and is on track to open another 100 stores by the end of next year. The company is headquartered in Ohio and is a sub-organization with Marathon Petroleum.

9-29 Convenience Stores

9-29 Convenience Stores is a large name in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 9-29 operates, franchises, and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. The company offers cold drinks, candy, pizzas, groceries, tobacco items, lottery tickets, coffee, juices, sandwiches, ice creams, snacks, and other related items. The chain was founded in 1927.

A couple of the most popular items 9-29 offers are their large Slurpee drinks and large soft drink cups for its soda fountain machine. The cups offered are the largest on the market at 128 ounces.

Fast Time Convenience Stores

Fast Time Convenience Stores is an operator of a network of convenience stores and gas stations in the northeastern part of the United States. The company’s stores offer groceries, beverages, fresh food, car wash services, road transportation fuel, stationeries and other retail products. Fast Time was founded in 1958 and continues to operate from the original family that established it.

Most recently, Fast Time has attempted to grow its footprint to the midwestern states of the US. The company is currently conducting market research to see if the investment would be viable as those states tend to be saturated with a multitude of convenience store chains.

 

Competitive Advantage

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

• Ideal location – there is not a convenience store within 5 miles of the newly developed neighborhood
• Large selection of snacks, beverages, and freshly made items
• The gas to be sold is from the highest quality gas distributor

 

Marketing Plan

Brand & Value Proposition

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• The location is strategically located in a convenience store desert where there is no other convenience store within 5 miles.
• Large selection of snacks, beverages, and freshly made hot food items.
• The store will contract with the highest quality fuel distributor.
• Pricing will be competitive and on par with other convenience store chains.

 

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store is as follows:

Location

Speedy Pete’s will be located in a newly developed neighborhood where there are no other convenience stores in the area yet. The owner has identified a parcel of land in a highly trafficked area where a traffic light was just put up. The intersection sees thousands of residents and cars pass by on a daily basis.

Print Advertising

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will invest in professionally designed print ads to display in newspapers, paper programs,  or flyers to be handed out at local events.

Website/SEO Marketing

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will hire a third-party marketing company to design their print ads and design their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the convenience store products they plan to offer. The website will also list their contact information and directions to the convenience store. The marketing company will also include SEO tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Lansing convenience store” or “convenience store near me”, Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will be listed at the top of the search results.

Billboards

The owner will also hire the marketing company to design eye-catching billboard designs to be displayed in different parts of the city. The billboards will target the drivers and/or tourists that will be heading in the direction of the convenience store.

 

Pricing

The pricing of Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their convenience store products.

 

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store.

Operation Functions:

• Pete McGee will be the Owner and Operator of the company. He will oversee all staff, hire, train, and manage store inventory, and supplier contracts and relationships.
• Bob Jones – will be the Head Manager to be in charge of the convenience store when Pete is not there. He will also work closely with Pete to learn all aspects of managing a convenience store.
• Bookkeeper – Will be in charge of payroll, accounts receivable and payable, and tax payments.
• Staff of 3 – 4 employees to assist with customer service and cleaning.

 

Milestones:

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

1/1/202X – Finalize purchase of retail land

2/15/202X – Begin construction on the convenience store

3/1/202X – Finalize contracts for gas and grocery supplier

4/15/202X – Purchase all store inventory and supplies

5/1/202X – Final walk through of convenience store

5/15/202X – Hire and train convenience store staff

6/1/202X – Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store opens for business

 

Management Team

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store will be owned and operated by Pete McGee, a lifelong Lansing resident who has extensive experience in the convenience store industry, having worked as an hourly employee and up to an area manager overseeing 6 stores.

Pete McGee has worked in the retail industry for most of his life. He has worked in convenience stores, home improvement stores, and large retailers. For the past ten years, Pete has been the area manager for 6 convenience stores for a locally-owned brand. Through his promotion, Pete oversaw the store managers and made sure each store was profitable, well stocked, and had the proper staff in place. Pete was exceptional at his job as he was able to monitor profit margins and teach his store managers which products to keep on the shelves and which products to get rid of. Through his knowledge and training, Pete is well-equipped to be able to open his own convenience store and manage it properly.

 

Financial Plan

Key Revenue & Costs

The revenue drivers for Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store are the revenues it will receive from the sales of gas, car washes, grocery, snacks, beverages, alcoholic beverages, and hot ready made food.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff and maintain a profitable and successful convenience store. The expenses will be the payroll cost, land payment, utilities, store supplies and inventory, car wash maintenance, and marketing materials.

 

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Speedy Pete’s Convenience Store is seeking $400,000 in debt financing to open the convenience store. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the land, funding the construction, and purchasing the initial inventory. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, utilities, and marketing costs for the convenience store. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Purchase 0.5 acre of retail land located at an intersection: $100,000
• Construction and build-out of the small convenience store: $100,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $40,000

 

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Products Sold per Month: 10,300
• Average Price per Product: $5
• Number of Convenience Store Products Sold Per Year: 123,600

 

Financial Projections

Income Statement

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

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