It was a message of confidence spruiked at the 2016 Ezymart Conference and Trade Show, one which sat well with Ezymart retailers gathered in Sydney yesterday.
Suppliers from Australia and the globe demonstrated the latest of products due for release in convenience stores and service stations around Australia over summer and through the new year.
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores executive director Jeff Rogut, speaking at the annual Ezymart post-conference dinner, reiterated the mantra that the industry could have “confidence in convenience”.
“There’s absolutely no doubt seeing what people such as Ezymart are doing, seeing what other companies are doing, in Australia, and seeing whats happening with convenience globally, you should all be very confident in the businesses that you either own, or the businesses you supply,” he said.
“If we look at last year we’ve had really good growth in sales. In the year to July, this channel grew 4.5 per cent, in terms of merchandise only.
“We’re really pleased in terms of the performance of the industry.”
Mr Rogut reinforced his message that the future of the industry laid with food.
“All of the dusty products we used to stock, and nobody used to buy; it’s all about food,” he said.
“This is so much so that there are convenience stores in the US that are opening without petrol, they are so convinced that they are doing as good a job, and in some cases a better job than many of the big service stations.
“So I think that bodes very well for our industry as well.”
Ezymart founder and CEO Maher Magableh welcomed everyone to the conference, stating that the company’s performance had far exceeded his expectations.