Believe it or not, there was a time when brands mattered! Motorists were loyal to Shell or Sinclair, Getty or Gulf, Mobil or Esso! My dad preferred Sunoco. The station where we filled up wasn't the closest, but he had a buddy who was a mechanic there. Of course, this was when gas stations had uniformed mechanics who repaired cars and fixed flat tires-as opposed to today's cashiers ringing up potato chip sales or Lotto tickets! And if you drove up just for gas, you didn't have to get out of your car. An attendant filled your tank for you and cleaned the windshield. There was no such thing as "swiping a card" at the pump. You paid cash and off you went!
I'm reminded of that Sunoco station (on Route 22 in Eastchester, NY) this month, because if you pulled in around Halloween and there were kids in the car, the attendant had a big pumpkin full of candy, and he'd give each kid a candy bar—usually a Hershey bar or a Milky Way. And these were the full-size candy bars, not Halloween-size miniatures!
They also gave out S&H Green Stamps. Of course, my mother had the S&H catalog sequestered to minimize the lobbying efforts from my sisters and me. It was an effective parental tactic, I must admit.
Another reason I quickly acquired my dad's preference for Sunoco gas was their long-running promotion on antique cars. They'd give you a cardboard sheet slotted to accommodate about 25 coins. Each coin was a different silver colored coin (aluminum, I think) featuring a profile of an antique car with the year it was first sold on the front and its history on the back. They were about the size of a half-dollar. I tried for the longest time to complete the collection, but never got them all! If you completed the collection, I think you won a U.S. Savings Bond...or maybe a model of one of the antique cars. Does anyone remember that?
That's when gasoline brands mattered. Take a look at today's numbers:
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Top 20 Most Profitable Brands in the U.S. |
Top 10 Brands by Market Share |
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1. USA Petroleum |
1. Shell 14.59% |
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2. Gulf |
2. Chevron 8.30% |
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3. Irving |
3. Exxon 8.12% |
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4. Lukoil |
4. BP 7.56% |
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5. Quik Stop |
5. Mobil 4.39% |
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6. Stop & Shop |
6. Sunoco 3.75% |
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7. Cumberland |
7. Valero 3.71% |
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8. Getty |
8. Citgo 3.63% |
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9. Stewarts |
9. Speedway 3.49% |
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10. Safeway |
10. Circle K 3.15% |
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(If you're wondering, Sunoco is ranked 14th, Mobil is 17th, and Shell is 20th. Sinclair is 24th, and Exxon-formerly Esso-is 31st.) |
Source: OPIS Retail Fuel Watch - Oct. 1, 2009 |
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Source: OPIS Retail Fuel Watch - Oct. 1, 2009 |
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What happened? Well, the best-known brands have stations in the thousands. However, nine of the top 10 most profitable brands have fewer than 1,000 stations across the country. Smaller brands belonging to regional convenience store chains have found a profit niche. But no matter what brand you mention, they just don't fix cars any more. Let me know if your station gives your kids a candy bar on Halloween!
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