BW Gas & Convenience Holdings, LLC, operating under the Yesway and Allsup’s brands, is a company we have formed to acquire, improve and operate a portfolio of undervalued gas stations and convenience stores in select regions of the United States. With the recent acquisition of the 304-store Allsup’s convenience store chain in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, Yesway is now the 14th largest convenience store retailer in the country. Yesway’s goal is to build a portfolio of between 500 and 600 stores across the Midwestern and Southwestern sections of the United States in the next several years.
As an extension of our value-add real estate investment philosophy, we seek to acquire and add value to our portfolio of convenience stores by improving in-store operations and realizing economies of scale by: institutionalizing our merchandising, promotionals, marketing and advertising activity; making targeted capital improvements to the outside and inside of the stores; upgrading technology and introducing sophisticated, state-of-the-art systems; and providing new and enhanced loyalty programs and food service options.
Unlike the majority of real estate asset classes, the convenience and fuel retailing business has proven to be consistently recession-resistant, making this strategy a natural complement to our inherently-cyclical commercial real estate activity.
Our decision to enter the convenience store industry is a direct and deliberate extension of our value-add real estate investment strategy. The industry has been overlooked by the majority of institutional investors, and this has led to a tremendous
opportunity to create value.
— Mark J. Daniels, Managing Director, Chief Strategy Officer