Our
Company

During the last year, we set business performance records despite a generally negative economic climate. We also penetrated new markets, advanced our environmental goals, expanded our fresh foods service and saw more talented young professionals take their places at the executive table.

Although we still managed to grow total revenues, the core achievement was our continued and unrelenting search for efficiency.

Strength in Good Partners

Part of our growth strategy has always been to capitalize on strong relationships with the major fuel companies who operate c-stores as a natural add-on to their retail gas stations. In recent years, these companies have increasingly out-sourced or sold their store assets in order to concentrate on core strengths. We have been a natural partner for these strategies. 

Keeping things fresh

Couche-Tard’s most important revenue categories are, in order: fuel, tobacco products, beer and wine, packaged beverages, and groceries. Food service is number six on the list.

Recently, we have been adding considerably more strategic weight to making fresh food service a bigger, more viable and profitable core service across our network. We have formalized this as a priority undertaking.

Food service is a category with excellent margins and strong traffic building. But it is also a very complex field and the need for first-class planning and execution leave no margin for error.

As always with Couche-Tard, there are differences between region but also a best-practices model to be shared and adapted to local opportunities.

Growing ever greener

Another company-wide initiative now positioned firmly on the front burner is our environmental program. This involves not only a moral responsibility but important cost management issues.

Energy use in its many forms is the third largest expense category we have. We have set an ambitious goal in our efforts to reduce energy costs.

All of the Business Units have been active on this front for some time now and we are well advanced in the installation of more efficient LED lighting inside and out as well as energy management systems.

We have created a national Energy Team which will gather data from all the divisions. That will give us a best-practices strategy for the whole network on which to base each region’s program.

A talented team

At Couche-Tard, we have a commitment to innovation. We see it as one of the paths to market leadership. Innovation needs fresh blood and new ideas to thrive.

We have a superb team with excellent talent in decision-making roles; there is a fresh eagerness in the air at our splendid new Support Services and Head Office building; we are executing exciting new acquisition opportunities; we are advancing with fresh foods and making our stores a point of return for customers, not just a point of convenience; and we continue to deliver astonishing customer service numbers.

We are in excellent financial condition and not highly leveraged.

As always, I turn to the more than 53,000 people who are sharing this journey to offer my thanks. Our performance over the past two years in particular has been exceptional in the face of major challenges in the market place. In our business, there is no easy way to achieve that kind of success and everyone shouldered the burden.

 These, and thousands of others, are the people who build our success.  And I say, thank you. Not to forget, of course, our Board of Directors, all of whom I also thank most sincerely for their commitment and sound guidance.