Cody’s Convenience plans to triple store count

The Springfield-based chain is tripling its size in order to gain market presence and purchasing power, according to Curtis Jared, chief operating officer and executive vice president of parent company CRW Properties Inc.

“We want to make sure … you can find a Cody’s anywhere you need,” Jared said.

An ongoing aggressive expansion plan will increase Cody’s’ store count from five to 16 by spring. The method is a mix of new construction and acquisitions.

On Oct. 1, CRW Properties acquired six convenience stores for an undisclosed price from Price Cutter Supermarkets. The new stores are in Springfield, Battlefield, Nixa, Waynesville and Joplin, and four of the new stores are next to Price Cutter grocery stores.

Price Cutter had operated the convenience stores for about four years after buying them from Albertson’s Inc., said Erick Taylor, president and CEO of RPCS Inc., parent company of Price Cutter.

“We made the decision to sell them so we’d be better positioned to focus on what we do best – operating our 32 supermarkets,” Taylor said. “Rather than spreading ourselves too thin, we decided it was time to turn the convenience stores over to capable hands.”

In addition to its Price Cutter acquisitions, Cody’s is building five stores in Springfield, Nixa and Bolivar that will open between this fall and next spring.

“If you’re going to survive, you need to expand,” Jared said. “The trend across the nation is consolidation. Bigger (companies) are getting bigger, and smaller ones are getting gobbled up.”

Jared said regional expansion is on the horizon, but for now, Cody’s is concentrating closer to home.

CRW Properties opened its first Cody’s in Rogersville in 2002, Jared said.