Parkland Corporation (formerly Parkland Fuel Corporation) is a Calgary, Alberta-based energy and retail company. Parkland operates gas stations under the Pioneer, Columbia Fuels, Ultramar, Chevron, and Fas Gas Plus brands, as well as franchised Esso locations. The company holds the rights to the convenience store brand On the Run in Canada and most of the United States, and franchises White Spot's fast food restaurant chain Triple O's in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. Parkland also operates commercial oil and gas businesses under the Bluewave Energy, Sparlings, and Ultramar brands.
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Formerly | Parkland Beef Industries Parkland Industries Parkland Fuel Corporation |
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Company type | Public |
TSX: PKI S&P/TSX Composite Component | |
Industry | Retail (Convenience stores) Fuel Retailing |
Founder | Jack Donald |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Bob Espey (President and Chief executive officer) Jorge Jimenez Neubauer Torres (Chairman and Chief Investment Officer) |
Brands | Chevron (Canadian retail) Corner Store 59th Street Food Company On the Run RaceTrac Gas Superpumper |
Subsidiaries | Fas Gas Plus Pioneer Energy Ultramar M&M Food Market |
Website | www |
It is the largest independent fuel retailing company in Canada,[1] as well as the second-largest convenience store operator.[2] It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of $3.9 billion as of March 2018.[2]
History
editParkland Industries was founded as Parkland Beef Industries, a publicly traded cattle feedlot.[1] In 1975, it was acquired by Jack Donald, and renamed Parkland Industries.[1] Donald had previously founded and sold a chain of retail gas stations called Parkland Oil Products Ltd.[3] At Parkland Industries, Donald pivoted the company from cattle to fuel retailing; it established Fas Gas Plus, a western Canadian gas station chain, in 1977.[1] In its early years, the company was headquartered in Red Deer, Alberta; it moved to Calgary in the mid-2010s.[4]
In the following 30 years, the company grew significantly, in the context of offloading of retail gas operations by larger, integrated oil companies.[1] By the end of 2012, the company had 720 gas stations and $4.1 billion in annual revenue.[1] In 2010, it renamed itself Parkland Fuel Corporation.[1]
In 2013, Parkland acquired Elbow River Marketing, with 1,400 rail cars.[5] In April of 2013, the company purchased Sparling's Propane, a Southwestern Ontario propane retailer.[6] In late 2014, it announced the acquisition of Pioneer Energy, an Ontario gas station chain with 393 stations, for $378 million.[7] The purchase came as part of a larger acquisition strategy by the company, and expanded its retail footprint to 1,000 gas stations nationwide.[8]
In August 2016, the company announced the acquisition of most of CST Brands' Canadian assets for $965 million, as part of that company's acquisition by Alimentation Couche-Tard for $4 billion. This included the majority of the Ultramar chain, including 490 retail locations and 72 cardlocks in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The sale gave Parkland a total of just over 1,500 retail locations.[9][10][11]
As part of Imperial Oil's exit from retail location ownership, Parkland also acquired the remaining On the Run franchise network, Canadian trademarks, and 17 Esso-branded gas stations.[12][13]
In 2017, Parkland acquired Chevron's Canadian downstream fuel operations for $1.5 billion.[14] As part of the deal, the company acquired the Burnaby Refinery in Burnaby, British Columbia, and 129 Chevron gas stations in the province; this expanded Parkland's retail footprint to 1,800 locations.[14][15]
In October 2018, Parkland announced it would acquire 75% of SOL Investments, a retail gas station operator based in the Caribbean, for $1.57 billion.[16]
In February 2020, Parkland renewed its agreement with British Columbia-based restaurant chain White Spot to operate Triple-O's locations as part of its Town Pantry (Chevron) and On the Run-branded convenience stores, with plans to extend the chain into Alberta and Ontario.[17] That year, the company renamed itself Parkland Corporation.[18]
In September 2020, Parkland USA acquired from Couche-Tard the rights to the On the Run brand in most U.S. states, with an intent to further-expand the chain into a North American operation.[19]
In 2021, Parkland acquired 156 gas stations from Husky Energy for $156 million. These stations are located on Vancouver Island as well as the metropolitan areas of Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.[20]
In January 2022, Parkland acquired frozen-food retailer M&M Food Market for $332 million. The purchase was part of a broader foray into food service by Parkland, in order to diversify its business beyond fuel retail (especially amid the growth of the electric vehicle market). Parkland planned to offer M&M products as part of On the Run's product line, while also maintaining its standalone locations and other distribution agreements.[21][22] In late-October 2022, Parkland announced a deal with U.S.-based EV charger company FreeWire Technologies to install EV chargers at 25 locations across British Columbia.[23][24]
Parkland has faced calls from activist investor Engine Capital for the sale of non-core assets, restructuring operations to improve value, and prioritising stock buybacks.[25] In March 2024, Parkland announced plans to sell 157 of its gas stations—mostly in Ontario and Quebec—to third-party operators, while maintaining fuel supply agreements with the new owners.[26] In June 2024, Parkland announced the sale of its propane business to Avenir Energy.[27] In August 2024, it was reported that Parkland had declined a takeover offer from Sunoco in 2023.[28] In September 2024, Parkland announced its intent to sell its operations in Florida.[29]
Operations
editParkland's three businesses are retail gas stations, commercial fuel distribution, and fuel supply and wholesaling.[2]
Its retail gas station brands in Canada include (with number of sites owned or franchised, as of 2019[30]):
- Ultramar (634 sites, primarily in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and Ontario),
- Esso (634 sites)
- FasGas (186 sites, primarily in Western Canada),
- Pioneer (170 sites, primarily in Ontario),
- Chevron (193 sites, primarily in British Columbia and parts of Alberta)
- Race Trac (58 sites) — a franchised brand with independently run locations (unrelated to the U.S. chain RaceTrac)
- 29 other sites
As of the end of 2019, the company had 1863 stations in its network, of which it owns 641.[17] Unlike gas retailing operations owned by integrated oil and gas companies, which generally buy from a single supplier, Parkland sources its fuel from multiple suppliers.[1] In October 2019, Parkland partnered with CIBC to launch Journie, a loyalty program accepted at Chevron, FasGas, Pioneer, and Ultramar locations.[31][32]
In addition to its retail arm, Parkland distributes fuel, including propane, diesel, and heating oil, to mainly commercial customers. It operates under various brands, including Bluewave Energy, Sparlings, and Ultramar.[33]
In British Columbia, Parkland has historically been a franchise of the local restaurant chain White Spot, operating Triple-O's locations as part of its gas stations in the province.[17] In 2016, Parkland acquired the On the Run brand and franchise network in Canada from Imperial Oil. The company has since begun to utilize On the Run in conjunction with its own retail petroleum brands to leverage its recognition, and introduced a refreshed version of the brand in 2018.[12][34] Parkland began to expand the relaunched On the Run brand into the United States in 2020.[35] In January 2022, Parkland announced plans to establish a new concept for standalone On the Run convenience stores in high-traffic urban locations, which will feature M&M products.[36]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "How Parkland Fuel Corp. became Canada's largest independent fuel distributor - Alberta Oil Magazine". Alberta Oil Magazine. 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ a b c "The next Couche-Tard? Shrewd acquisitions create new Alberta powerhouse". The Globe and Mail. 2018-03-10. p. B9. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Jack C. Donald | The Alberta Order of Excellence". www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Varcoe: Parkland Fuel keeps growing amid fuel sector shakeup". Calgary Herald. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
- ^ Healing, Dan. "New rail rules to park some Parkland oil tankers". www.calgaryherald.com. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "PROPANE by Parkland Fuel Corporation: A story of growth in service, delivery & national supply". Canadian Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
- ^ "Parkland Fuel Corp to buy Canada's Pioneer Energy". Reuters. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Why Alberta-based Parkland Fuel Corp is in no rush to see oil prices rise". Financial Post. 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Parkland to buy CST's Canadian assets from Couche-Tard in $965-million deal". The Globe and Mail. 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Couche-Tard gets US$4.4-billion deal with CST Brands; Parkland Fuels gets a piece". Canadian Press. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
- ^ Lindenberg, Greg (August 22, 2016). "Parkland to Acquire Most of CST's Canadian Assets". CSP Daily News. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
- ^ a b Dudley, Stewart. "What's in a name?". Canadian Fuels Association. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ "Imperial Oil to sell Esso stations for $2.8B". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ^ a b "Canada's largest fuel retailers buys Chevron Canada assets in B.C. for $1.5B". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "The big squeeze: pain ahead if Alberta cuts oil flow to B.C." Richmond News. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ "Parkland Fuel to buy 75% stake in Caribbean fuel marketer SOL Investments for $1.57 billion". Financial Post. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ a b c "Parkland expands foodservice offering with Triple O's restaurant deal". CCentral. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
- ^ Q1 2021 Management's Discussion and Analysis (PDF) (Report). Parkland Corporation. 31 Mar 2021.
- ^ Lindenberg, Greg (September 10, 2020). "Parkland to Expand On the Run in the U.S." CSP Daily News. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
- ^ Lindenberg, Greg (December 1, 2021). "Parkland, Federated Co-operatives Split Up 337 Husky Stations". CSP Daily News. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Parkland Corp. buying M&M Food Market for $322 million". CTVNews. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
- ^ Robertson, Susan Krashinsky (2022-01-18). "Gas station and convenience store owner Parkland Corp. buys M&M Food Market". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
- ^ Tyler, Tim (2022-10-28). "FreeWire & Parkland Team Up To Bring Game-Changing Battery-Integrated Ultrafast EV Chargers". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
- ^ "Parkland to partner with U.S.-based FreeWire on EV charging network". ca.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
- ^ "Activist investor calls on Parkland to pay down debt and buy back shares". Canadian Press. Retrieved 2024-09-05 – via Global News.
- ^ "Parkland to Sell 157 Convenience Stores in Canada". www.convenience.org. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
- ^ "Parkland enters into agreement to sell its Canadian propane business | Parkland Corporation". www.parkland.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
- ^ "Parkland Corp. turned down takeover offer from Sunoco last year amid shareholder dispute". The Globe and Mail. 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
- ^ Insider, Retail (2024-09-04). "Parkland Corp. to sell Florida assets in divestiture plan". Retail Insider. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
- ^ Parkland Corp website, accessed 9 May 2022
- ^ Healing, Dan (2019-11-05). "The Lower Mainland's sole supplier of motor fuel will be shut down for 8 weeks". CTV News British Columbia. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
- ^ "Parkland partners with CIBC for new rewards program". CCentral. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
- ^ "Parkland 2017 Annual Report" (PDF).
- ^ "Ben's Pioneer Gas opens new premises". The Chesterville Record. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ^ "Parkland to expand On the Run in US". CSP Daily News. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ "Parkland to open 50 standalone On the Run convenience stores". CCentral. Retrieved 2022-08-26.