Circle K Program Features Hispanic Brands

By George Anderson


When people from various Latin American countries move to the U.S., they are certainly leaving things they cherish behind. Sometimes that something can be as simple as a favorite food or beauty care brand that is sold in their native country but not here.


Circle K Stores, reports Convenience Store Decisions, is looking to remedy that with what the company is calling its “Authentic Hispanic” program. The convenience store chain is working with Inca Products and Core-Mark International to execute the program in its Southwestern store locations.


The new program offers a number of planogram options, including complete four- and three-foot dry grocery and HBC displays of over 70 SKUs from brands such as Jumex, La Costena, Hershey Lorena, Nestle and El Azteca. Stores will also have 10 “authentic” beverage SKUs in the refrigerated section.


“Circle K has been working with Inca and Core-Mark to launch this unique and authentic Hispanic program,” said Chris Wilson, director of marketing for Circle K. “We have been looking for a consolidated program like this for some time. By offering complete planogram services and consolidated logistics, the Inca program provides the ability to offer a comprehensive program to our stores.”


Discussion Questions: A lot of retailers are looking to develop programs to attract Hispanic consumers. Do you see merit in Circle K’s approach of working
with a company that can provide a “comprehensive” Hispanic program? Are they assuming unusual risks in doing so?

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Mark Lilien
Mark Lilien
17 years ago

Circle K isn’t risking much by implementing its Select Hispanic Foods import assortment. The real question: how will Hispanic shoppers who don’t currently go to Circle K be informed? Unless the assortment is promoted outside the traditional Circle K audience, the potential might not be achieved, leading to inadequate sales volume. Convenience stores don’t have the space for slow movers.

M. Jericho Banks PhD
M. Jericho Banks PhD
17 years ago

In the mid 80s at BI-LO stores in South Carolina, we gave ourselves a huge pat on the back for adding sections for our Jewish customers that included “Authentic Jewish” products. Good move, too, because sales justified the move.

American supermarkets (and C-Stores) are finally starting to measure the competitive impact of Hispanic bodegas, fresh meat markets, and produce markets on their business, and many find that it’s significant. They are responding in a variety of ways, especially here in California’s Central Valley, but supermarkets have a built-in impediment to capturing additional Latino business – they’re too big and too Gringo. Bodegas and other specialty Hispanic retailers are small and intimate, and shoppers rub elbows with their neighbors. In most supermarkets, however, Latino customers are surrounded by shoppers whose very presence can make Latinos feel like outsiders.

Circle K can duplicate one of the preferred Latino shopping parameters – small, intimate size – better than supermarkets. Additionally, if they can devote some of their center-store space to items that move rather than gather dust, so much the better. This move by Circle K has no downside, and I expect sales to justify the move.

Daryle Hier
Daryle Hier
17 years ago

On the surface, this would look like a good idea for Circle K. They have not been able to differentiate at all and seem to be flailing along trying to find answers to their problems (which are many). I believe a company like Circle K can find a niche and this is one, although small in the larger scheme.

The problem I find is like that of other struggling retail businesses; the core deficiencies are still there. Circle K has a large problem in management and in more particular, store management. Until the quality can be corrected, this will be only a bandage on a much larger service dilemma. With Tesco coming in the next year, they had better get with it.

I might add that this Hispanic program is one way for Circle K to improve loyalty. To offer other simple solutions, since they don’t do any advertising, they should look to other alternative marketing such as motorsports and community involvement.

Stephan Kouzomis
Stephan Kouzomis
17 years ago

This is a coupe for Circle K! And it will get supermarkets’ customers business, if the quality is there.

In Circle K’s markets, the supermarket industry, in general, hasn’t paid enough attention, and created an upscale Hispanic brand, across all departments…especially the fresh products departments! Hmmmmm

Robert Leppan
Robert Leppan
17 years ago

Circle K and other C-stores are doing the obvious to me – providing Latino customers brands they know and trust from Mexico and Latin America. If someone of Mexican origin walks into a store and sees their favorite soft drink, Jarritos, in the cold box, I think he/she will value Circle K for making this brand available. I don’t see any risk in that. Much of C-store traffic in many markets is Hispanic and those customers are looking for gas, snacks, soft drinks, perhaps a lottery ticket as they shop and head to & from work. Other C-stores have identified this opportunity but the operational side of getting a store set together with the right mix of SKUs/brands and then having it properly serviced has been a challenge. Finding a distributor to provide a “comprehensive Hispanic program” is definitely the way to go – assuming they know what they are doing in terms of understanding Hispanic brand preference, categories and the best SKU’s to stock. The Hispanic opportunity for C-stores is much broader than just the Southwest.

Charles P. Walsh
Charles P. Walsh
17 years ago

Circle K will hit a home run if they are able to effectively implement and maintain this program. Hispanic customers will respond to authentic product that meets their needs far greater than product that has simply been labeled in English and in Spanish but differs little from the original offer.

I live in a region that has seen significant Hispanic population growth over the last 8 years and the greatest growth in new retail has been in the grocery stores, restaurants and other retail services which were mostly launched by Hispanics themselves.

These businesses have flourished not because they can buy cheaper or sell cheaper than the local town shopkeepers or regional/national chains were able to do. They succeed because they understand their customers needs and provide the authentic and familiar product and services which meets their needs.