WASHINGTON – Convenience-store chains are right at home among the Hot 100 Retailers for 2015 in STORES Magazine‘s annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing retailers by year-over-year domestic sales growth. Chains bringing the sizzle this year include Stripes, Casey’s, Wawa, RaceTrac, CST Brands’ Corner Stores and Sheetz.

For the industry, Stripes topped the list:

28. Stripes, Corpus Christi, Texas (2014 vs. 2013 sales growth of 16.2%.)

41. Casey’s, Ankeny, Iowa (11.6)

66. Wawa, Wawa, Pa. (8.2%)

69. RaceTrac, Atlanta (8.0%)

74. CST Brands/Corner Stores, San Antonio (7.8%)

98. Sheetz, Altoona, Pa. (6.3%)

Other notable related-cahnnel retailers included Fresh Market (No. 30); Kroger (No. 50); Dollar Tree (No. 57); Harp’s (No. 63); Trader Joe’s (No. 67); Dollar General (No. 68); and Houchens Industries (No. 86).

“The Hot 100 is a mix of companies that have balance sheets that allow them to make acquisitions or grow organically,” said Bryan Gildenberg, chief knowledge officer at Kantar Retail, provider of the Hot 100 data. “Hot 100 retailers grow quickly because they understand why people are buying. They understand the dynamics of their audience.”

The convenience-store segment, where fuel is not among the merchandise categories included in Hot 100 total sales figures, has six companies on the list, although not the industry leaders by store count, 7-Eleven or Circle K.

The number of convenience stores among the Hot 100 is surprising, since “The c-store as a channel isn’t growing,” Gildenberg said. Instead, the hot retailers are those “who are winning market share. There is a lot of consolidating going on in this channel.”

The dynamics of convenience-store retailing are shifting as a result of what is happening with tobacco sales: The general population is cutting back on smoking, and major retailers such as CVS are exiting tobacco sales altogether even as dollar stores are entering the category.

If anything distinguishes successful convenience-store operators, it is food. “The big oil companies haven’t done very much with their c-stores,” Gildenberg said. “The best operators have done a really nice job of expanding their food sector, increasing their gross dollars per store.”

That certainly describes the highest-ranking convenience store on the chart, No. 28 Stripes. Food offerings at more than 400 locations are handled by subsidiary Laredo Taco Co., which prepares Mexican cuisine to order.

STORES Media is the publishing group of the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association.

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