ampm
Parent BP | | |
| Website | ampm.com | |
|---|---|---|
ampm (rarely "am/pm") is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and in several countries such as Costa Rica and Brazil. The brand pulled out of the Eastern United States in 2012, but returned a decade later.
The ampm brand is owned by BP America, Inc.,[1] a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. In the United States, the stores are usually attached to an ARCO or BP-branded gas station. The first location opened in Southern California in 1978.[1]
History
1978–2007
ampm is owned by a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. The first ampm location opened in Southern California in 1978.[1] The chain would also have a presence in the Northeastern United States at ARCO locations until ARCO spun those operations off into Atlantic Petroleum in 1985, with those stores being rebranded as A-Plus. A-Plus remains owned by Sunoco (which acquired Atlantic in 1988), though all the company-owned stores were sold to 7-Eleven in 2018.
The Japanese chain was originally established by Kyodo Oil Company (later
2008–2011: BP Connect branding
In spring 2008, U.S. branches of the
2012–2023
In 2012, in
In 2014, the brand was focusing on food such as "coffee, bakery, fresh sandwiches and hot foods, along with an extensive condiment bar," as well as fountain drinks and refrigerated display cases. It had a value line, "ampm Good Stuff." ampm had 950 stores overall, with headquarters in La Palma, California, and operations in five states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.[11] ampm was nearing its 1,000th location by November 2017.[12] In early 2019, BP had "recently opened its first new-to-industry ampm site" in 12 years, marking the company's 1,000th ampm location in a BP outlet.[13] In May 2019, Ipiranga was operating ampm stores in Brazil, with 2,500 ampm stores at gas stations in the country.[14]
In 2019, BP acquired an ownership stake in rival chain Thorntons LLC, and in 2021 announced it would acquire full ownership from partner ArcLight Capital Partners. The deal would make ampm and Thorntons sister chains, though BP plans to keep operations separate. With Thorntons being primarily in the Midwestern United States and Florida, the two chains do not overlap geographically.[15]
In August 2022, BP opened their first East Coast ampm convenience store in the New York City borough of The Bronx. It also marked the first time the West Coast chain had a presence in the Eastern United States since pulling out in 2012.[16] A second New York City location opened in Queens in 2023.
Dispersion
With the division of ARCO between BP and
Franchised and BP-owned units of ampm are also found in parts of
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Get to know ampm: History". BP America Inc. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ "Gyukaku operator to buy controlling stake in am/pm". Japan Times. 10 July 2004. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^ "AM/PM Brand Heads East, Fueled By Owner BP’s Sponsorships", IEG Sponsorship Report (21 April 2008)
- ^ "Ricker rebranding 17 Indianapolis convenience stores". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ Dan Gearino. "Family-owned company gobbles up BP stores". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on September 17, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- Japan Times(30 December 2009)
- ^ "International News: Japan's FamilyMart to Buy Out Rival am/pm Japan". Convenience Store News. 15 November 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "Modern Convenience Stores are Displacing Pulperias in Costa Rica", Jaime Lopez, The Costa Rica Star (1 June 2012)
- ^ "Lights Out for BP's ampm". CSPnet.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ "BP ampm Exits Eastern U.S.", Author, CStore Decisions (29 August 2012)
- ^ "BP AMERICA (AMPM)", CSP Daily News (2014)
- ^ "It's All About 'Mojo' for BP's ampm Division", Melissa Kress & Danielle Romano, CS News (13 November 2017)
- ^ "Amoco Returns for an Encore", Peter Romeo, CSP Daily News Peter Romeo, (18 January 2018)
- ^ "Can Backseat Snacks Help Uber Take Brazil?", Julie Walmsley, Forbes (20 May 2019)
- ^ "bp to grow mobility and convenience presence in America, integrating convenience leader Thorntons | News | Home". United States.
- ^ "Bp expands ampm convenience brand to US East Coast | News and insights | Home".
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