Mac’s store banner to disappear: Couche-Tard

A new name is on the way for Mac’s convenience stores. Six years later, it bought the remaining Mac’s, Mike’s Mart and Becker’s stores in Ontario and Western Canada from Silcorp Ltd.

The company will keep its Couche-Tard banner in Quebec, where the company (TSX:ATD.B) has its head office in Laval.

Mac’s stores have been part of Calgary and Alberta’s landscape for more than 50 years, but that’s about to change. Known as Mac’s Milk, the retailer was founded in 1962 by Kenneth and Carl McGowen.

Couche-Tard acquired Mac’s in Quebec in 1993.

Couche-Tard is applying the same rebranding exercise to stores it owns throughout Europe.

Gathering several distinct names under a single brand is not unusual in retailing.

“Today we may be a little bit of distant cousins being from different banners and different companies”. The Circle K chain in the USA was acquired in 2003 from ConocoPhillips Co.

According to the CEO Couche-Tard Brian Hannasch this name change will make the brand stronger and help grow it further. In Europe, the retail network of 2,229 stores covers Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the Baltics and Russian Federation . Though Statoil will still exist as an oil company the current owners of Statoil retail and Fuel, Couche-Tard, will be rolling out these name changes throughout their 15000 stations worldwide.

“It was a shock for me to get that answer”, Bouchard told reporters, adding some changes may be required before being reintroduced.

The company, citing a lack of support, removed at the last minute a plan to extend the voting advantage of the company’s four founders.

Bouchard said it will work on a revised plan to present to shareholders later.