No.10, Rapid Roberts

Fuel is in the bloodlines of Rapid Robert’s President and CEO Rob Wilson.
From the age of 12 Wilson was familiarizing himself with the gasoline business, working with his father, Bob “Blackie” Wilson, who ran Stone County Oil Co., a fuel wholesaler.
When it came time for the younger Wilson to move on, he chose the retail side.
“I felt retail was where the future was going in the gasoline business,” Wilson said.
Wilson founded Rapid Robert’s Inc. in 1983 with a fuel station and convenience store in Crane, which he still operates today. His venture has blossomed into a 22-store outfit spanning all of southwest Missouri and employing more than 150 associates.
It has proved profitable, especially of late.
The 130,659 convenience stores nationwide posted a record $337 billion in revenues in 2003, rebounding from a three-year slump, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores. Rapid Robert’s did its part, recording $46 million in sales that year.
2004 was even better, as nearly $57 million passed through Wilson’s stores, a 22 percent increase over 2003 and 43 percent above 2002.
Wilson said store acquisitions have been a large factor in such quick company expansion. Since 2001, the company has acquired four new stores – one each in Marshfield and Joplin and two in Springfield, compared to one new construction project in Ridgedale, south of Branson.
“You’ve got a business that you can gauge instantly,” Wilson said of acquisitions. “Sometimes we find properties that were mismanaged and we feel have a lot more potential.”
Furthermore, building from the ground up has gotten quite expensive.
“Right now is the highest cost of construction that we’ve ever seen, by far – steel cost, fuel cost, labor cost,” Wilson said. “Everything has increased drastically in the last two years.”
The company is seeing those higher costs firsthand as it prepares to build a new gas station and convenience store at East Sunshine and Highway 65 in Springfield. The approximate cost: $1 million. Wilson hopes it opens by late summer.

Re-imaging campaign
Wilson also credits clean stores with new looks and quality personnel as growth factors.
The fuel station and convenience store business is all about image, and Rapid Robert’s is in the middle of a re-imaging campaign.
In the last three years, Rapid Robert’s has invested more than $580,000 in facility upgrades, a large chunk of that going to its Campbell and Sunshine flagship location. There, the company spent $150,000 for new signage, lighting, interior improvements and $18,000-a-piece fuel pumps.
“We’re trying to put a little bit of glitz into convenience stores,” said Operations Manager Sherry Hurd. “We’re not gas stations anymore … we’re an entire package. But yet, the gas pumps are the first things they see.”
Besides Rapid Robert’s self-imposed upgrades, its fuel supplier since Day 1, Conoco – now ConocoPhillips – rolled out exterior remodel requirements Jan. 1, 2004, giving stations three years to comply. Rapid Robert’s has upgraded five of its locations.
The improvements are generating dividends.
“We’ve had each store produce more income over the last five or six years,” Wilson said. “We’re seeing increased dollar sales and increased customer counts.”
According to company data, customer traffic counts have increased an average of 17 percent in the remodeled stores, resulting in inside merchandise sales that are 21 percent higher. Additionally, stores that have the new ConocoPhillips exterior image have realized an average gain in fuel sales of 22 percent.
The new images, which Hurd said portray a “bright, clean, modern look,” have had an impact on hiring, too. Employment has grown from 117 in 2002 to 154 today. But more importantly, Hurd said, it has attracted quality personnel, also the result of more focused training. The company is in the process of finishing a training center complete with a point-of-sale system at its corporate offices, 1840 S. Campbell Ave.