The approximately 335 Kwik Trip, Inc. convenience stores throughout Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are part of a retail genre that serves as the modern version of the "neighborhood grocery," and neighborhood shopping currently is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. In an article published on August 9, 2008 in the Washington Post, journalist Ylan Q. Mui notes, "convenience and drug stores are siphoning away sales from traditional supermarkets as the weak economy and high gas prices force consumers to save more by driving less." This high cost of gas, which has flirted with and in some parts of the country exceeded the $4/gal price-mark, also has brought up the value of Kwik Trip's 4 million gal of gasoline that is stored in the ground daily. The company maximizes the value of this approximately $16 million of buried treasure by vertically integrating its fuel operations. A subsidiary of the company - Convenience Transportation LLC - moves the fuel from pipeline to pump. This enables the parent company to keep more of profits within the organization. Convenience Transportation also moves other goods, such as bakery items, bottled drinks and freshly made sandwiches, to Kwik Trip stores.
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