NightOwl Convenience Senior Marketing and Communications Coordinator Glenys Tristram spoke to Convenience World about the group whose origin dates back to 1975, its new NightOwl-Puma store in Townsville, its latest offer, consumer trends and challenges in the market.
NightOwl Convenience is a national brand established in 1975 as Australia’s first 24-hour trading convenience retail business. Since the first store opened on Milton Road at Auchenflower in Brisbane, the brand’s network has expanded to more than 75 stores nationally, reaching across Queensland, NSW and Western Australia.
The company is privately owned by Adam and Katrina Adams, who acquired it in 2007 after owning NightOwl Convenience franchises in Cairns for the previous five years.
In Queensland, NightOwl Convenience ranks within the top six brands in the petrol and convenience market, according to Senior Marketing and Communications Coordinator Glenys Tristram.
In 2001, NightOwl opened its first P&C store at Southport in conjunction with BP. Today, it has more than 20 operational P&C sites associated with four major fuel retailers.
Consumer trends
The current and continually pressing trends and challenges in NightOwl’s market have come out of necessity from the complications of shopping during the pandemic.
“We’re talking about safety, firstly, making sure that we comply with all rules and regulations around mask wearing, social distancing and cleaning practices,” Ms Tristram said.
“Along with that, we’re seeing the trends of localisation and online purchasing making an impact. We know we’ve gained local shoppers who’ve changed their purchasing habits to avoid the big shopping centres, and many of our stores work with multiple delivery partners to be as available online as possible.
“Non-Covid related is the trend of reducing plastics, and NightOwl will be pulling all single-use plastic products off the shelves by September. This includes, but isn’t limited to, plastic cutlery, cups and plates.”
Read the exclusive interview in full in the July-August issue of Convenience World.
