Convenience Matters

Hear how retailers can grow sales through effective marketing, merchandising and planning that makes their stores the ultimate destination for road trippers.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Steve Holtz, President, Holtz Media Consulting

Steve is a veteran c-store journalist with 25 years in the industry. He is currently president of Holtz Media Consulting.

At least two broad trends are affecting food consumption right now: The growing use of GLP-1 drugs that is leading one segment of customers to seek out products with specific attributes, while economic concerns are leading another segment to increasingly seek out value.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Andreas Düss, CEO, 6 Seeds Consulting

Andreas is a leading voice at the intersection of AI, consumer behavior and the food and agriculture industries. His insights help shape the future of food, guiding businesses through the challenges of an evolving global market.

Although there have been many changes in the electric vehicle market, both in sales and in perceptions, EVs will continue to play a central role in the future of transportation.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Quincy Lee, Founder & CEO, Electric Era

Quincy founded Electric Era in 2020. Prior to that, he led the Gateway Ground Station Antenna program for SpaceX Starlink and was one of the earliest team members.

What are the key convenience retail metrics and themes that were delivered at the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit? Chris Rapanick breaks it down for us this week on Convenience Matters.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Chris Rapanick, Managing Director, NACS Research

Chris oversees the day-to-day operations of NACS Research, manages and directs departmental financial and operational performance, and drives strategic development of NACS long-term research capabilities and offerings for the convenience industry.

AI can sound grandiose... it can sound complicated... and it can sound scary. But it's really just another tool to help you communicate.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Steve Lerch, President, Story Arc Consulting

Steve was a featured speaker at the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit. He is an award-winning international public speaker and consultant, and a highly respected voice in the world of digital strategy, marketing, consumer behavior, innovation, and leadership.

Let's look at the big takeaways and data from the recently concluded NACS State of the Industry Summit. We cover big-picture industry metrics, consumer trends and insights how you can best navigate today's economic uncertainty.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

Convenience can mean extended hours of operation, one-stop shopping, speedy service, online ordering and delivery. When we asked consumers how they defined convenience, one word stood out most.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Adam Rosenblatt, Founding Partner, Bold Decision

Adam is one of the nation's leading political consultants sought after for his ability to help clients achieve victory through effective research-based strategies and messaging. He designs and executes cutting-edge quantitative, qualitative, and data analytics programs for campaigns as well as non-political clients like NACS.

Which resources are necessary for HR leaders in convenience retail to build great teams? The recent NACS Human Resource Forum focused on this topic along with other industry-specific themes.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Julie Jackowski, HR Forum Moderator and Chief Legal Officer & Secretary, Casey's (retired)

Julie has more than 30-plus years of experience in the legal profession and the c-store industry, including 31 years at Casey's, where she oversaw the company's legal, compliance, regulatory and risk areas. She has moderated three NACS HR Forums and served as the 2019-20 NACS Chairman.

EVs are one of many solutions to reducing emissions; we look at some other ways to also examine emission reduction. In addition, we share insights on how EV drivers charge at stores -- and what it means to your business.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

John Eichberger, Executive Director, Transportation Energy Institute

John has more than 20 years of experience in the fuels industry, including more than a decade leading the Transportation Energy Institute (formerly known as the Fuels Institute). Prior to that, he served for 15 years as vice president of government relations at NACS, with a focus on fuels- and energy-related issues.

Highlights from the 2025 NACS Convenience Summit Asia were tours of convenience stores in Tokyo. Hear more for learnings and insights about what we saw, and experienced in this incredibly efficient c-store market.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard

About our Guest:

Jeff McQuilkin, Director, Exhibit Sales & Services, NACS

Jeff has over 25 years of exposition sales, marketing, operations and project management experience, the last eight with NACS.