Total U.S. Sales
$6.38 billion in fiscal 2020 (ended Dec. 31, 2020)
*Parent 7-Eleven has not shared Speedway sales since acquiring the c-store
Total U.S. Stores
3,309 stores across 36 U.S. states (as of July 2022)
U.S. Shopper Count
More than two million daily
Headquarters
Springfield, Ohio
Key Facts
- 7-Eleven purchased all Speedway locations from Marathon Petroleum Corp. for $21 billion in May 2021
- Pumps more than 6 billion gallons of fuel a year
- 6.3 million active Speedy Rewards members (as of 2019)
Key Executives
Seven & i Holdings
- President and Representative Director: Ryuichi Isaka
- Vice President and Representative Director: Katsuhiro Goto
Speedway LLC
- President: Timothy Griffith
- Market Position and Strategy Overview
- Must-Know Terms
- Promotional Strategy
- Merchandising
- Collaborative Alliances
- Displays and Signage
- In-Store Media
- Store Formats/Growth
- Special Departments/Services
- Customer Segments
- Internet Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Media
- E-Commerce
- Circulars
- Loyalty Programs
- Private Label
- Cause/Community Programs
- Advertising Strategy
- Solution Providers
- Sponsorships
- Marketing Expenditures
Market Position and Strategy Overview
Market Position and Strategy Overview
Formerly a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), Speedway was acquired by 7-Eleven in 2021. The addition of Speedway brings 7‑Eleven's total North American portfolio to approximately 14,000 stores and diversifies the convenience retailer's presence to 47 of the 50 most populated metro areas in the U.S., as well as expands its company-operated store footprint.
Based in Enon, Ohio, Speeday operates the nation's third largest convenience store chain with more than 3,800 stores located across 36 states. Its position in the convenience store channel was partly made possible by Speedway’s acquisition and conversion (completed in 2016) of Hess Retail Holdings, which added roughly 1,200 gas station and convenience store sites to Speedway’s store count.
Striving to carve out a reputation as more than just a go-to outlet selling more than gasoline and pit-stop items, the company focuses on highlighting its fresh Speedy Cafe prepared food offerings, specifically through an aggressive marketing plan. All national TV spots, for example, highlight the retailer’s food offerings, such as pizza.
A key focus of 7-Eleven's strategy is for its foodservice to account for one-third of sales by 2025. Part of that includes adding food cases to approximately 1,600 Speedway sites. 7-Eleven also plans to add more self-checkout options to its Speedway stores, and implement its propriety Retail Information System point-of-sale system across all banners.
Must-Know Terms
Must-Know Terms
- Speedy Rewards: The retailer’s industry-leading loyalty program, which allows members to earn points after every purchase redeemable for fuel discounts, free food and merchandise, and third-party gift cards.
- Speedy Freeze: Speedway’s proprietary frozen beverage.
- Speedy Tea: Speedway’s proprietary iced tea.
- Club Chill: The retailer's fountain service offers beverages from a variety of national manufacturers.
Thought Starters
- Leverage the retailer’s Speedy Rewards program, which rewards members for purchasing multiple SKUs from various manufacturers.
- Look for ways to tie your brand to Speedway’s fresh food offerings, which the retailer aims to focus more on.
- Help the retailer better capture female customers as it works to expand its reach with that demographic.
Promotional Strategy
Promotional Strategy
Speedway’s promotional initiatives most often spotlight its private-label products and fresh food offerings. Common promotion structures include sweepstakes, contests and free-with-purchase offers.
In 2024, 7-Eleven and The Tetris Company collaborated to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Tetris game. Customers who buy qualifying products at participating Speedway, Stripes and 7-Eleven stores (including Slurpee drinks and Red Bull products) get a shot at winning one of 20,000 limited edition Tetris handheld gaming devices shaped like a Slurpee. (Loyalty members get extra entries when they shop.) The collaboration includes limited edition co-branded merchandise such as retro T-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, hats and more.
Ongoing Programs
Free gas/coffee for a year: Periodically runs sweepstakes and instant-win games that award free gas or coffee for a year.
Speedy Scratcher Instant Win Game: Periodically runs this instant-win game to promote new product launches by awarding prizes and coupons through a digital "scratch card."
Bring Your Own Cup Day: To kick off summer, aka "Slurpee season," customers can bring a container (that is clean and fits under the drink dispenser) and fill it for $1.99. For 2023, BYOC day featured a new, limited-time flavor, Fanta Dragon Fruit Zero Sugar.
Merchandising
Merchandising
Like many of its c-store and fuel-chain competitors, Speedway strives to be a go-to outlet selling more than gasoline and pit-stop items, and has focused on its food and merchandise offerings, including specialty coffee products, Kraft Food Group’s Oscar Mayer hot dogs, sandwiches and pastries. It also has recently begun expanding its assortment of packaged food and beverage private labels. (See "Private Labels" section.)
7-Eleven fans have long been able to buy 7-Eleven merchandise in-store and online. Now Speedway merchandise has found its way to the 7collection.com page, where customers can purchase T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, hoodies and tote bags with the Speedway logo.
Collaborative Alliances
Collaborative Alliances
Speedway enters into typical channel alliances with snack and beverage vendors. It also sometimes serves as a test location for their products and programs, earning exclusive launch windows for new SKUs. Monster Energy Co. and Rockstar are frequent providers.
The retailer also works with a variety of manufacturers to create unique programs or customized versions of national promotions, including sweepstakes.
Additionally, the retailer highlights specific brands by offering members of its Speedy Rewards program a seventh product free after purchase of the first six via specific clubs including the “Frito-Lay Club,” “Coca-Cola Club,” “Gatorade Club,” “Lipton Club,” “Krispy Kreme Club,” “Mountain Dew Club,” “Pepsi Club,” “Starbucks Club” and "Snapple Club."
Branded fresh products including Kraft Foods Group’s Oscar Mayer hot dogs are sold in some stores.
Displays and Signage
Displays and Signage
Speedway accepts a variety of vendor-supplied P-O-P materials including floorstands, window and cooler clings, suction racks, power wings and pole toppers.
New items are often showcased and given a test run on shippers or other off-shelf vehicles before gaining inline space. Depending on manufacturer support, a new item may be price promoted as well.
In-Store Media
In-Store Media
Some Speedway locations have gas pump computer screens that communicate promotional messages. Beyond this, the retailer has no third-party advertising opportunities.
Store Formats/Growth
Store Formats/Growth
Speedway operates 2,744 stores across 21 states. The retailer open 24 new stores, and completed five rebuilds plus 315 remodel projects in high-priority markets in 2017, with more of the same investments planned for 2018.
The chain's primary format is approximately 3,200 square feet, and includes well-lit canopies and bright spacious interiors, tall cooler doors and walk-in beer caves. Store locations with a Speedy Cafe also include indoor and outdoor seating areas.
The retailer’s portfolio also includes a number of kiosk-style stores that can be as small as 600 square feet.
The retailer in past years completed the acquisition (for $2.87 billion) of 1,256 stores in 23 states formerly owned by Hess Retail Holdings. The company was the fifth-largest c-store operator in the U.S., with locations primarily on the East Coast. The move made Speedway the largest company-owned and operated c-store chain in the U.S. by revenues, and the second largest by store count with more than 2,700 locations.
Previously, Speedway had been acquiring smaller chains. In 2013, it bought nine c-stores in Tennessee, western Indiana and Pennsylvania; 10 stores in Kentucky and Ohio; and one truck-stop location in Chicago. In 2012, the company acquired 87 stores in Indiana and Ohio, and in 2011, it acquired 23 stores in Indiana and Illinois.
Special Departments/Services
Special Departments/Services
The majority of Speedway locations are too small to accommodate special departments, but some locations house Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut or Dairy Queen counters. Select locations sell Krispy Kreme donuts. Some also offer car washes.
Speedy Cafe
As of mid-2018, there are 168 Speedy Cafe locations in states including Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan. First launched in 2010, the concept is intended to imitate a fast casual, full-service restaurant. Shoppers can purchase made-to-order paninis, subs, specialty dogs, customizable pizzas, handcrafted beverages (lattes, mochas, smoothies and frappes), breakfast sandwiches and sides through a self-serve order kiosk located within select stores.
Customer Segments
Customer Segments
Speedway tries to attract a wider audience than the traditional 18- to 45-year-old male commuter/traveler. It has put more effort into attracting female customers by promoting take-home meal options and a wider variety of fresh, healthy foods in the stores.
Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Strategy
Speedway's main website (speedway.com) is almost entirely devoted to promoting the retailer's Speedy Rewards loyalty program details and special promotions, its mobile application, private-label products, and fresh food offerings.
The website lets users:
- check Speedy Rewards points balance
- enter sweepstakes in exchange for Speedy Rewards points
- locate a store and view gas prices
- peruse fresh food offerings and beverages at the chain, including nutritional facts
- view a list of items that would provide bonus Speedy Rewards points
- apply for a Speedy Rewards MasterCard (directing users to First National Bank's website)
- view Speedy Cash prepaid cards.
- View the retailer's Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Ads for national brands appear occasionally on the home page, typically for account-specific sweepstakes or exclusive SKUs. The only web pages highlighting national brands is the "Grab-and-Go" and "Cold Beverages" section of the website, which lists brand-name beverages, snacks and miscellaneous packaged foods available at Speedway.
Speedy Rewards Mall
The retailer also maintains a microsite spotlighting third-party retailers. The website directs Speedy Rewards members to third-party websites to earn extra points. For example, members can earn 25 points per dollar spent on Staples.com or Kohls.com.
Mobile Marketing
Mobile Marketing Strategy
Speedway's mobile app was redesigned in 2023.
The app gives users access to:
- monthly fuel or merchandise perks
- Speedy Rewards points and transaction histories
- gas prices, store locations and directions
- a list of items rendering bonus Speedy Rewards points
- sweepstakes they can enter in exchange for Speedy Rewards points
The chain’s mobile application also lets users redeem their Speedy Rewards points for digital coupons, typically good for free national-brand SKUs and freshly prepared items.
Mobile Website:
The retailer's mobile-optimized website includes all of the same features as the desktop site, such as a rotating carousel, a tab for current Speedy Rewards offers and links to the retailer's social media accounts.
Social Media
Social Media Strategy
While Speedway frequently uses its social media channels to highlight its proprietary food and drink items, playfully engage with followers and host giveaways and sweepstakes (many account-specific), brand opportunities are also available, especially for products that provide Speedy Rewards points with purchase or tie in to a holiday. The c-store also often supports national programs from CPG brands using its social media. Speedway’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter activity closely aligns and frequently shares the same content.
Facebook: 1.28 million followers (as of March 2021)
- Posts daily updates to its Facebook page, typically spotlighting its beverages fountain, special promotions, the Speedway mobile app, sweepstakes and national brands.
Instagram: 27.5k (as of February 2021)
- Posts on Instagram every few days. Activity mirrors Facebook content. Instagram stories circulate the same images as on the retailer’s homepage.
Twitter: 137.8k followers (as of February 2021)
- Regularly posts updates mirroring Facebook and Instagram, while also often retweeting employee appreciation posts and customer satisfaction tweets. The retailer also tweets shopper engagement content, for example asking customers about their favorite products, and regularly responds to shoppers’ comments and complaints.
TikTok: 35 followers (as of February 2021)
- Joined TikTok in October 2020 and has since posted one video about Speedway’s gas station security procedures.
E-Commerce
E-Commerce Strategy
Speedway’s website directs users to an e-commerce website dedicated to selling Speedway-branded prepaid fuel and gift cards (speedwayestore.com). The website also sells private label boxes of ground coffee and Speedway branded merchandise such as water bottles and t-shirts. Orders over $500 receive free shipping and up to a 2% discount. Beyond this, the retailer does not sell products online.
Circulars
Circulars and Publications
Speedway currently does not distribute any circulars.
Loyalty Programs
![speedway brand clubs](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/public/2024-02/bevclubs.png)
Loyalty Programs
Speedway’s Speedy Rewards loyalty program has been an industry-leading loyalty program since its inception in 2004, claiming 6.3 million active members on average, as of 2019.
Purchases earn 20 points per $1 spent on food, drink and merchandise, as well as 10 points per gallon of fuel purchased. Some products offer bonus points and are identified in stores with gold stars. Points are redeemable for fuel discounts, free food and merchandise, and third-party gift cards via in-store Speedy Rewards Terminals, where members can review point balances, check their club status, and choose and print coupons for their rewards. Members can transfer points between themselves.
Qualifying purchases also can earn entries into contests. (In 2024, for example, loyalty members could enter for a year's worth of concert and live events prizes — awarded in the form of Live Nation eGift Cards — and earn extra entries by buying Red Bull and Ghost Energy beverages, or Trolli candies.)
Due to Speedway’s ability to capture and analyze member-specific transactional data, the retailer is able to offer the Speedy Rewards members discounts and promotions specific to their buying behavior. The retailer implements personalized marketing promotions based on shoppers’ purchase behavior and preferences, and extends one-to-one offers. Members submit their preferences for promotions, events and communications.
The Speedy Rewards program includes a traditional rewards card, a prepaid reloadable debit card and a credit card version via First National Bank of Omaha. Each offer various additional benefits. The company also offers a Preferred Vendor Program whereby customers receive discounts at Speedway locations when using their fleet fueling card.
Brand-Specific Clubs
Speedway offers a slew of beverage and snack clubs that earn shoppers a coupon for free product, bonus points or discounts on qualifying cumulative purchases. Members earn a free product (or reward) after the purchase of six via specific clubs including the “Beverage Club,” “Energy Shot Club,” “Reese’s Club,” and “Frito Lay Club.” (Or, four car washes earn a fifth car wash, free.) They also can access exclusive sweepstakes, which can dangle large points awards as prizes. Shoppers who make a qualifying cumulative purchase are automatically enrolled in Speedy Rewards.
Speedy Rewards also offers Monthly Perks. Members can choose a merchandise or fuel perk each month to boost their rewards; when they make qualifying purchases, rewards are automatically applied.
Private Label
Private Label
7-Eleven has been rebranding many Speedway products. Speedway's Club Chill and Speedy Freeze beverages are now sold as Big Gulps and Slurpees. Speedy Choice packaged snacks and Enon Springs have been replaced by 7-Select products.
7-Eleven regularly partners with beverage companies PepsiCo, Coca-Cola Co., and Dr Pepper Snapple Group to create limited-edition flavors, which frequently drive major promotions and sweepstakes.
7-Select products get merchandising support in addition to being stocked alongside national brands in respective categories. 7-Select includes OTC, beverages, prepared foods and packaged goods.
The retailer continues to add private label products, including protein-rich snacks and breakfast burritos under the 7-Select label, in early 2024
Cause/Community Programs
Cause/Community Programs
Most of Speedway's cause-related efforts go toward benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network, collecting donations for the organization via canisters placed near registers. The retailer likes to tout it is the largest contributor in the c-store industry, raising more than $60 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals since 1991.
In 2023, Speedway began taking part in 7-Eleven's Operation Chill, a community outreach program that empowers local law enforcement officers to give "tickets" to kids they observe doing good deeds or exhibiting positive behavior. The ticket is a coupon for a free Slurpee.
Speedway also raises money for the United Way (via payroll pledges and department fundraisers that are held throughout the year at the corporate office) and tailors the price of its Speedy pre-paid cards to assist nonprofit organizations. Groups can buy $500 worth of fuel or gift cards at a 5% discount, resell them at face value, and retain the difference. Nonprofits can order a smaller amount of Speedway cards by working through a fundraising organization called Scrips.
Advertising Strategy
Advertising Strategy
Tagline: There's More
In March 2024, 7-Eleven Inc. launched a multi-channel campaign in support of Speedway stores. The spots focus on the variety of products found in stores, including Big Gulps, Big Bites and Slurpees. Musician and Speedway fan JD Eicher is at the center of the campaign, performing his jingle, "There's Always More at Speedway."
The campaign is slated to run throughout 2024 and includes 15-second TV spots, 15- and 30-second radio spots, 6-, 15- and 30-second social and online video, streaming audio and video, out-of-home marketing, paid digital and search and programmatic display.
Solution Providers
Solution Providers
- Loyalty: NCR Corp., Duluth, Georgia
- POS advertising: Neptune Retail Solutions, Jersey City, New Jersey
Sponsorships
Sponsorships
Speedway does not sponsor any national events or teams.
Marketing Expenditures
Marketing Expenditures
Speedway does not release its advertising expenses.
![Speedway logo](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/speedway_logo.png)
Speedway Promotional Calendar
A roundup of seasonal promotions.
January
Similar to most convenience store chains, Speedway’s promotional strategy is driven less by seasonal events and holidays, and more by one-off co-marketing endeavors, sweepstakes and promotions, most of which differ by region. The c-store chain does tie in to some annual occurrences, however.
- Super Bowl: Highlights SKUs from National Football League sponsors such as PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch InBev and runs account-specific sweepstakes.
February
- Super Bowl: Speedway, 7-Eleven and Stripes stores promoted game day grub, including deals on pizza and wings. Gold pass loyalty members could take advantage of a free pizza offer.
- Valentine's Day: In 2024, new private label treats landed on store shelves, including some limited-time options. The retailer offered deals on candies such as The Hershey Co.'s Kit Kat and Reese's and Mars Inc.'s M&Ms and Snickers.
March
- March Madness: Highlights manufacturers that are National Collegiate Athletic Association sponsors in stores.
- Pi Day: Participating locations allow Speedy Rewards members to purchase a whole pizza for $3.14.
April
- Bring Your Own Cup Day: The convenience store kicks off "Slurpee season" by inviting customers to bring their favorite container (conventional or otherwise) to participating stores and fill it for $1.99.
May
- Children's Miracle Network: Collects donations via canisters near registers to benefit the nonprofit.
- Mother's Day: For 2023, 7Rewards and Speedy Rewards members could buy a pizza for $5.
- Memorial Day: Seasonal and limited-time flavors in snacks and drinks are released, along with savings for rewards members.
June
- Summer: Shines a spotlight less on its hot coffee beverages and more on its Club Chill, Speedy Freeze and iced coffee beverages via social media.
- Quest to Refresh: Incentivizes store visits and bulk purchases of private label items with an online/mobile game running throughout summer. (Didn't run in 2018).
- Father's Day: Presents gift cards to various restaurants and retailers as presents and offers incentives on purchases. Social media updates support.
October
- Halloween: The convenience retailer offers deals for loyalty members as well as new 7-Select candies, 7-Eleven merchandise and a new Slurpee flavor (Mtn Dew Pitch Black for 2023).
November
- Holidays: Spotlights hot beverages, gift cards and exclusive holiday-themed products and seasonal flavors. Loyalty members receive deals on pizza and other hot food items as well as on some Mars Inc. candies.
December
- Holidays: Positions itself as a go-to shop for party necessities, highlighting items such as gift cards. Sells a collectible toy truck each year with a Speedy Rewards bonus for cardholders.