Soco gas stations switch from Exxon to Liberty brand
By Erik Olson, Billings Gazette, Mont. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
After a quarter century,
The fraying of the relationship dates back three years when
a payment to
"It's sad how I caused this to crumble, this relationship with
New look
The biggest change for customers is the store design, Stockton said.
The renovations are complete at
Liberty has 400 retail locations nationwide. The nearest is in
It's a good fit for Stockton, who had been growing frustrated with what he felt was an impersonal relationship with out-of-state
"
Problems with
When
"You don't recover (from) this overnight," he said.
Stockton said he'd never missed a payment to
As independent retailers,
But it carries risk, he acknowledged. Without a big-name supplier,
"It's very scary to branch off and do something like this. When you have
History of change
The loss of
The company traces its roots to the late 1940s, when Stockton's grandfather,
Over the next three decades, Stockton bought more stations and added to the Phillips 66 brand. The company saw two major changes in 1979: the founder retired and turned the reins over to Mykel's father, Dan Jr., and
Stockton then created the Soco Express brand to market fuel and later partnered with Sinclair and displayed the company's iconic dinosaur logo.
In 1988,
Since then, convenience stores have grown into a
"We're trying to drive them into the store. That's where the money is," Stockton said.
It's a steeper challenge without the marketing muscle of
Moving through the ranks, Stockton gained an appreciation for the business, and he wants to ensure the fourth generation, his two sons, can take over one day.
"Since I was around the business all the time, I fell in love with it,' Stockton said.
___
(c)2014 the Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.)
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