CBX, the strategic branding, design, and consultant agency, has completed a new store layout for Sunoco's APlus-branded convenience store operation. Sunoco Inc., the Philadelphia-based oil refiner and marketer, has approximately 4,700 branded retail outlets located along the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida, as well as upstate New York and Ohio.
Under the project, CBX was retained to better position Sunoco's recently upgraded food service areas, including coffee and ready-to-go foods. Additionally, the firm executed an audit and rationalized APlus's in-store communication materials.
Averaging 2,850 s/f, APlus stores, located in select Sunoco stations, offer on-the-go snacks, a wide range of beverages, including soft drinks, coffee, juices and water, along with packaged foods for lunches or quick pick-me-ups. A grocery area stocks basic necessities such as bread, milk and eggs.
"Sunoco's significant investment in its current look and feel carries major equity with customers," said Joseph Bona, president of CBX's retail division. The bright and inviting primary color palette found on Sunoco's architecture and gas canopy signage makes its way inside the stores by way of counters, fixtures and floors, as well as departmental graphics and promotional messaging.
CBX assisted Sunoco in redeveloping existing perimeter department signage as well as wall graphics and menu boards. Additionally, the firm helped reorganize the checkout counter to improve transaction efficiency and to increase impulse purchases.
Sunoco currently is evaluating the revamped layout and graphics in its Wyomissing, Pa. location for the purpose of testing before rolling out the design to its company-owned portfolio of stores. "This store design delivers our new grab-and-go sandwich and prepared beverage programs in a cost-effective, easy to operate format. We believe the end result will be a higher return on capital," said Jim Farrow, franchise manager and manager of store design and layout.