News Coverage PetroWorld – Thursday, January 18, 2007
USA: BP Introduces ampm Franchise in Pittsburgh
NRC Realty Advisors, LLC (NRC) has announced this week that it has been
retained by BP to coordinate the sale of 34 existing BP-branded sites in
the Pittsburgh area to franchise sites. Buyers will initially operate
these franchise sites under the BP Connect brand and complete their
convenience store conversion and rebranding to ampm after closing."
Franchising these sites as ampm is in line with BP’s strategic plans
to expand and grow the brand to reach more consumers with its products
and services.
In addition to the ampm franchises, BP is offering 7 other Pittsburgh
area sites as dealer-owned and -operated BP-branded service stations
that include buildings, fixtures and real property, and 8 other
properties for sale for other commercial use.
With the introduction of BP ampm in the Eastern U.S., including in
Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, BP is leveraging the significant ampm
franchising experience and market recognition in the Western U.S. and
internationally. There are about 1,000 franchisee-owned and/or -
operated ampm franchise stores in the Western US. Internationally,
there are approximately 2,000 ampm stores in Brazil, Japan and
Mexico. While similar, the Eastern and Western U.S. ampm franchise
offers are distinct from one another and subject to separate
franchise documentation.
“The BP brand is distinctive in the Pittsburgh area,” said Hope
Mineo, Managing Director of NRC. “We are thrilled to continue to
assist BP in accelerating the expansion of its franchise brands.
This is a great “ground floor” franchising opportunity. Franchisees
become a part of ampm branding and own the real estate, bricks and
mortar of the business.”
“Our goal is to build and recruit a franchise network East of Rockies
that complements our already distinctive BP brand,” said Ben Amante,
BP’s vice president of franchising in the U.S. “We are offering
franchise buyers the rare opportunity to purchase a franchise with
real estate rights. We also see an opportunity to reflect the
diverse communities where we operate by appealing to minority
business people looking to franchise in the community. We look
forward to building a strong network of franchisees to help us grow
our business and deliver our products and services to more consumers.”
Back to top