ampm

ampm (rarely "am/pm") is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and in several countries such as Costa Rica and Brazil. The brand pulled out of the Eastern United States in 2012.

This article is about the convenience store chain. For the timekeeping method, see 12-hour clock. For other uses, see AM/PM (disambiguation).
ampm
TypePrivate (subsidiary of BP)
Founded1978
FounderAtlantic Richfield Company
ParentBP
Websitewww.ampm.com

The ampm brand is owned by BP America, Inc.,[1] a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. In the United States, the stores are usually attached to an ARCO or BP-branded gas station. The first location opened in Southern California in 1978.[1]

History

1978–2007

ampm is owned by a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. The first ampm location opened in Southern California in 1978.[1] The Japanese chain was sold, alongside BP's other interests in Japan, to Japan Energy (JOMO) in 2002, but then resold to Reins International Inc, an operator of Korean-style restaurants in Japan, in 2004.[2]

2008–2011: BP Connect branding

In spring 2008, U.S. branches of the BP Connect brand of convenience stores rebranded to ampm, which also brought the brand under the BP banner after exclusively being under the ARCO banner. The decision saw markets with a large BP presence, such as Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Orlando, and Pittsburgh, face rebranding as ampm stores and TV ads.[3] In August 2008, BP announced its decision to sell the majority of its retail operations in the Orlando area to Apopka-based Medallion Convenience Stores. Also in 2008, the Indianapolis stores were sold to Ricker Oil, which began operating them under the BP/Ricker's identity.[4] In November 2009, FamilyMart announced its acquisition of am/pm Japan.[5] All ampm stores in Japan then subsequently rebranded as FamilyMart.[6]

2012–2020

In 2012, in Costa Rica, both ampm and Fresh Market stores were owned by the same company. By the end of that year, there were 38 ampm locations in the country.[7] In August 2012 it was reported that BP had divested, or was planning to divest, all ampm operations East of the Rockies.[8] In 2012, BP announced it would withdraw ampm stores from the eastern US by the end of that year, naming specifically Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Orlando. At the time, there were 200 ampm convenience stores in BP fuel outlets in the eastern US, with 900 locations in the western US alongside BP and ARCO outlets. Retaining ownership, BP also said it would franchise ampm to Tesoro in the Southwest United States.[9]

In 2014, the brand was focusing on food such as "coffee, bakery, fresh sandwiches and hot foods, along with an extensive condiment bar," as well as fountain drinks and refrigerated display cases. It had a value line, "ampm Good Stuff." ampm overall had 950 stores, headquarters in La Palma, California, and operations in five states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.[10] ampm was nearing its 1,000th location by November 2017.[11] In early 2019, BP had "recently opened its first new-to-industry ampm site" in 12 years, marking its 1000th ampm location in a BP outlet.[12] In May 2019, Ipiranga was operating ampm stores in Brazil, with 2,500 ampm stores at gas stations in the country.[13]

Dispersion

With the division of ARCO between BP and Tesoro, West Coast franchising rights were split between BP (Washington, Oregon and Northern California) and Tesoro subsidiary company Treasure Franchise Company LLC (Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Southern California).

Franchised and BP-owned units of ampm are also found in parts of Mexico, usually co-located with a Pemex, which is the main provider of gas in the country and in Brazil usually with an Ipiranga station. In Argentina and Chile they can be found in Repsol-YPF/ACA stations.

See also

References
  1. "Get to know ampm: History". BP America Inc. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. "Gyukaku operator to buy controlling stake in am/pm". Japan Times. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  3. "AM/PM Brand Heads East, Fueled By Owner BP’s Sponsorships", IEG Sponsorship Report (21 April 2008)
  4. "Ricker rebranding 17 Indianapolis convenience stores". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  5. "FamilyMart Acquires AMPM Japan", Japan Times (30 December 2009)
  6. "International News: Japan's FamilyMart to Buy Out Rival am/pm Japan". Convenience Store News. 15 November 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  7. "Modern Convenience Stores are Displacing Pulperias in Costa Rica", Jaime Lopez, The Costa Rica Star (1 June 2012)
  8. "Lights Out for BP's ampm". CSPnet.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  9. "BP ampm Exits Eastern U.S.", Author, CStore Decisions (29 August 2012)
  10. "BP AMERICA (AMPM)", CSP Daily News (2014)
  11. "It's All About 'Mojo' for BP's ampm Division", Melissa Kress & Danielle Romano, CS News (13 November 2017)
  12. "Amoco Returns for an Encore", Peter Romeo, CSP Daily News Peter Romeo, (18 January 2018)
  13. "Can Backseat Snacks Help Uber Take Brazil?", Julie Walmsley, Forbes (20 May 2019)

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