PRNewswire: STARZ Buying Club Celebrates First Anniversary; Shell-Branded Retail Outlets Enjoy Savings and Efficiencies From Program (ShellNews.net) Posted 18 Dec 04
HOUSTON, PRNewswire/ -- Shell Oil Products US today announced that the STARZ Buying Club is celebrating its one-year anniversary. The STARZ Buying Club is a complete convenience merchandising and marketing program designed to create value-added, cost saving programs for Shell branded retailers and wholesalers. Royal Buying Group manages the STARZ Buying Club and is responsible for developing vendor marketing programs, administering rebates and directing vendor promotions.
According to James Rudolph a Shell-branded operator with Rudolph Management, the STARZ buying club provides his business with value on a daily basis. "We have a chain of 19 convenience stores that are well serviced by a STARZ Buying Club representative who is detail-oriented and always on the lookout for ways to maximize my savings. I've labeled him our 'Savings Cop."
The STARZ Buying Club is one of the components available through the Shell Trading and Retail Zone, a proprietary web-portal that provides Shell-branded retailers and wholesalers with site operations and convenience retailing tools and information. The site acts as a one-stop resource or virtual office headquarters, and the STARZ Buying Club is offered as a tool to help individual business people enjoy savings and buying power typically available to large buying networks through specially designed merchandising programs and promotional offers.
"STARZ Buying Club members are receiving programs and rebate opportunities that aren't available to other convenience store operators. The volatility of the convenience store industry combined with the stores' need to increase margins has resulted in a strong demand for our services," said Michael Zielinski, president and chief executive officer of Royal Buying Group, Inc. "Our ability to communicate directly with Shell retailers and wholesalers makes it easy and efficient for our vendor partners to reach a valuable audience."
The STARZ Buying Club will be offering valuable introductory programs for 2005 and retailers that join by the end of the year will receive guaranteed participation in all 2005 programs and contracts. To date, almost 1500 retail locations have joined the STARZ Buying Club.
For more information or to join the STARZ Buying Club, please contact Angela Angelilli at (877) STARZ-4-U x17 [877-782-7948 x17] or at a.angelilli@starz4u.com
Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is a leader in the refining, transportation and marketing of fuels, and has a network of nearly 7,000 branded gasoline stations in the Western United States. Shell Oil Company is a 50 percent owner of Motiva Enterprises LLC, along with Saudi Refining, Inc., which refines and markets branded products through more than 10,000 stations in the Eastern and Southern United States. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (NYSE: RD, SC). For more information, please visit http://www.shell.com
Royal Buying Group Inc., headquartered in Hinsdale, Ill., is a national organization dedicated to maximizing sales and profitability of convenience store and petroleum locations. Recently named to the 2003 Inc. 500 as one of America's fastest growing companies, Royal Buying Group, Inc. now represents over 4400 locations nationwide. The core service capabilities include negotiating with regional and national suppliers for impactful and competitive sales and marketing programs, providing category management expertise, state of the art marketing support, excellent customer service support as well as a variety of additional service offerings for its membership. Visit our website at http://www.royalbuying.com for more information on Royal Buying Group, Inc. or call 1-877 STARZ 4U (1-877-782-7948)
SOURCE Shell Oil Products US: Web Site: http://www.shell.com
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