Dive Brief:
- Casey’s General Stores has purchased Wow! Foodmart and its affiliated retail portfolio, according to an announcement from Downstream Energy Group, which served as the advisor to the deal.
- The acquisition, which closed in November, includes seven convenience stores, one travel center and four liquor stores in central Kentucky, mainly along the Interstate 75 corridor. Six of the stores have been rebranded to Casey’s, with another becoming a Goodstop, according to a company spokesperson.
- This acquisition continues Casey’s broader growth plans as the retailer works toward adding 500 more stores to its network by 2026..
Dive Insight:
The Wow! Foodmart acquisition comes shortly after the Midwestern retailer closed on its acquisition of CEFCO’s 198 stores in multiple Southern states. When added to the 2,685 stores Casey’s had in its network at the end of its fiscal second quarter, the retailer has now grown to about 2,900 sites.
The company has been so successful with its acquisition strategy that it boosted its target to 500 new stores after reaching its initial goal of 350 a year and a half early.
This latest deal grows Casey’s presence in Kentucky, where it had 67 stores at the end of fiscal year 2024, according to the company’s annual report.
“Casey’s is acquiring top-tier retail assets that will further strengthen their growing footprint,” said Jeff Traub, partner at DEG.
In addition to increasing its scale, Casey’s has also been revamping its foodservice lately, including an overhaul of its coffee program and the introduction of sauced wings in the Des Moines, Iowa, area.
