Ray Rabroker loves collegiate sports teams. But even more, he loves collegiate sports team merchandise. Rabroker is general manager of Slovacek’s convenience store, located in West, Texas, on the busy interstate between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. While the store is renowned for its fresh foods and delectable barbeque, it also offers shoppers a huge selection of logo merchandise from sports teams nationwide.

Every day, hundreds of busy travelers stop at Slovacek’s for food and fuel, and often, they walk out with something—coffee mugs, t-shirts or kids’ jackets—bearing a college logo or team mascot.

“I’ve got about every school in the United States. Even tier-two schools,” Rabroker said. “Grandmas and grandpas will buy things for their grandkids who go there. They make good gifts. If I could only have five things [in the general merchandise category], collegiate sports would be one of them.”

Catchall Category

Because time-crunched consumers in different parts of the country have different needs at different times of the year, a general merchandise selection is typically based on the store’s location and the needs or desires of its customer base.

“It comes down to knowing your customer and understanding what type of general merchandise fits their needs,” said Jayme Gough, an analyst with NACS. “You really can’t determine what will sell without first researching your market or talking to customers and store employees.”

General merchandise includes everything from batteries, film and school/office supplies to apparel, hardware and telecommunications accessories. “There are so many possible items to stock that retailers can get lost in the noise,” Gough said. “But you can get good volume on G.M. items, so it’s worth taking the time to research.”

According to the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2018 Data, the average margin for general merchandise at c-stores was 52.07% for 2018. The category represented 0.99% of in-store sales, which increased 2.1% year-over-year to a total of $22,323 average sales per store. Higher than average margins helped the category bring in $11,623 gross profit dollars per store.

Within general merchandise, the top five sales contributors in order were smoking accessories (19.7%), propane exchanges (16.4%), telecommunications hardware (15.8%), greeting/gift/novelties/toys/recreational equipment (11.2%) and wearables/apparel (10.2%).

Inventory management is the critical challenge in general merchandise.

Gas Station Fashion

Slovacek’s carries more than just college-logo wearables. The store offers a selection of dresses, socks and whimsical underwear, all of which sell well.

“We have socks from several vendors,” said Rabroker. “They have characters on them, political statements and funny sayings and retail from $6.99 to $12.99. Because they’re funny and have a lower price point, they move all year long. I recommended them to [a retailer] in Wisconsin, and the next time I saw him, he said they sold like crazy.”

The underwear offerings are mostly men’s boxers with humorous sayings. “Women buy them for funny gifts,” he said. “If more than one person asks for something, we may try it out to see if it’s worth having. If people don’t buy it, then we don’t have it.”

Other retailers are selling their own logoed t-shirts, which has the added value of free advertising whenever customers wear them and extra points when fans post photos of themselves in their c-store apparel on Instagram and Facebook.

Due to customer requests, Casey’s, based in Des Moines, Iowa, recently rolled out logoed t-shirts with whimsical sayings, such as "Come for the Gas, Stay for the Pizza." Buc-ee’s stores, with headquarters in Lake Jackson, Texas, also sell a wide variety of t-shirts, most featuring the chain’s grinning, buck-toothed beaver mascot. Fans who never drive anywhere near a Buc-ee’s can easily purchase one online.

Kwik Chek Food Stores, the Spicewood, Texas, chain, has enjoyed success with a different type of apparel. Kwik Chek t-shirt offerings feature Texas themes, and Russia Abdelbary, senior category manager for Kwik Check, is always on the lookout for garments printed with longhorns or cowboys. “Hunting season is big here in Texas, so apparel changes during that time, and we go more toward camo,” said Abdelbary. To complement the camo clothing, Kwik Check meets the needs of local hunters with another general merchandise item—deer corn, available at select locations.

Necessities vs. Impulse

Some general merchandise is just for fun, but other items can turn a c-store into a destination.

“Phone chargers, batteries and propane all fall into need-based for me,” said Joe Bortner, category manager at Rutter’s, the York, Pennsylvania-based chain. “We don’t have to put these items front and center because they’re a destination purchase. People stop at our stores with the intent of selecting them. Items like toys and floral are more impulsive, purchased that last second before leaving when consumers are looking to reward someone or themselves.”

You always want your merchandise to be fresh, look fresh and be properly packaged.

Slovacek’s has two kiosks full of phone accessories, such as chargers, “but not CB radios or anything like that,” said Rabroker. “And yes, truckers still use them.”

The store also sells toys, gifts and greeting cards. “We have four different vendors of greeting cards, and they’re very good sellers,” said Rabroker. “We also have toys for the kids, though I know the parents kind of wish we didn’t.”

Because Slovacek’s is a large store at 29,000 square feet, it also sells artwork and home décor from GreenBox. “Any wall that we have, we have stuff [for sale] on it.” Rabroker said.

Seasonal Merchandise

“Seasonal rotation is critical in maintaining relevant and interesting products while keeping things fresh during the obvious holidays—Valentines, St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day and Christmas—but also the smaller events throughout the year, such as the Super Bowl, and biennial events, like the Olympics,” said Gough.

The 500-plus Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores across 41 states cater to all types of road warriors with an emphasis on professional truck drivers. The stores are well stocked with mobile accessories, everyday electronics, truck and automotive electronics and safety supplies.

Love’s carries toys all year long, but “we offer additional toy items around the holidays to cater to professional drivers who don’t always have time to shop for gifts in traditional ways,” said Casey Creegan, manager of merchandising for Love’s. “Our goal is to get the customer back on the road quickly, while offering items at a good value and competitive price. We feel we’re able to do this with our merchandise selections.”

Colorful and holiday-themed displays help attract shoppers to seasonal offers. As products sell, it’s important for store employees to replenish the shelves or introduce new seasonal merchandise. And when the season is over, proper inventory management is critical to avoid being stuck with unwanted, space-stealing, items.

“Inventory management is the critical challenge in general merchandise,” said Mike Musso, senior managing director for Conway MacKenzie Atlanta, a global management consulting firm. “A markdown strategy is a critical component of promotion. The worst thing that could happen is to have Easter merchandise hanging around at Christmas. The day the season ends, you need to move seasonal merchandise out of the store quickly, either picked up by the vendor or reduced in price. Your markdown strategy must start in advance of the event or holiday. You always want your merchandise to be fresh, look fresh and be properly packaged.”

Retailers who handle general merchandise admit it’s not always easy to make product choices, but eventually, it comes down to staying on top of trends and ensuring that the merchandise is moving.

“Over the past few years, we phased outfilm and video,” said Bortner. “It wasn’t a need with the world going digital. Now everyone has the ability to take photos from their phone. As our consumers change, the items they seek change, and that evolution will continue to shape what general merchandise items stay and which ones go.”

“General merchandise is challenging to source, so you have to know your clientele,” said Abdelbary. “Not all stores can carry and sell the same exact items. Some stores are in little towns and need some tourist trinkets. Others are on highways and need other kinds of products, perhaps for travel. It’s not a blanket category that works for all locations, so it’s challenging. But it’s the good kind of challenging.”