If all goes well, future forecourt owners will be looking to the revamped Kinnegar Service Station in Holywood, Co Down, as a blueprint for how to incorporate sustainability into forecourt design, which, at Maxol Kinnegar features a newly extended Eurospar with deli, self-checkouts and increased carparking.

Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson says that not only will the flagship project be the company’s first dedicated EV hub on the island of Ireland, but it will also implement their new sub brand Maxol Recharge before it is rolled out elsewhere.

“Kinnegar is going to be our innovation hub to test the different types of chargers that we will operate under the Maxol Recharge brand, including very fast rapid and slower 50kW chargers,” he says.

“Really what we’re looking at is testing the technology, getting to better understand the early EV adopters and making sure that we are investing in the right way and giving the right experience to the customer.”

Location is key

The choice of the relatively upmarket village of Holywood was no accident, he explains.

“We selected Kinnegar because of the local demographic (medium to high income households), high rates of EV adoption and ownership and because it had the right footprint to facilitate an EV hub,” he says.

“We obviously are working closely with NIE Networks in getting the capacity and sufficient power supply needed for the EV charging hub.

“The kind of power that’s going into Kinnegar for the EV hub is around 550 KVA, which is equivalent to that needed for a small housing estate of about 15 houses.

“We’ve developed our own bespoke canopy which will have solar panels on the roof. We’ve created a completely new suite of point of sale to make it easy for the customer to identify the different types of chargers, whether it’s a 50kW charger, a 100kW charger or a 175 kW charger.

“We’ve also developed our own payments technology which links into the forecourt controller in terms of how we charge per kW. We also wish to introduce a surcharge for customers who overstay beyond the recommended period of time to help ensure they don’t restrict the facility for other customers.”

Blueprint for change

The charging hub isn’t the only feature that is showing of Maxol’s environmental leadership – the entire site is being designed with sustainability in mind, and is trialing new technology to cut energy consumption, Brian says. “It’s probably going to be the first location where we’ll install solar panels to generate some of our own electricity,” he says.

“We’re looking at developing an energy management system that controls the use of energy in-store, replacing all of our refrigeration with closed refrigeration, and we’ll be recycling the heat from those units within the premises as well.

“That’s on top of the good work we’ve been doing with grey water collection along with our use of LED and light sensors, making sure that we only use electricity when people are in those parts of the building.

“From that perspective Kinnegar is gearing up to be the blueprint for what we would like to roll out across our larger format stores, north and south, over the next 2-3 years.”

Major investment

Maxol is also extending and improving its sites at Edenderry and Downpatrick and has invested around €10m on capital works on the island of Ireland, including major projects in Kilkenny and Mitchelstown in Cork.

“We’ve done a major store revamp in Mitchelstown, increasing the amount of retail square footage, and we’ve also put in a new deli, a new seating area and moved it into the new Maxol shop concept. It was one of the very last three Mace stores that we had within our network in the south,” Brian says.

“We’re also putting in new underground storage, canopy and a completely new forecourt with increased car parking space, and relocating a new drive-thru car wash facility. The works are due to be finished by the end of October and we are planning to finish the works in Kinnegar, Edenderry and Downpatrick around the same time.”

As in the other projects, Maxol has acquired more land in Kilkenny, allowing it to double the size of the retail offer.

“Our site in Kilkenny will have a new deli and a new seating area, and we’re also re-laying the forecourt configuration and introducing much more car parking,” Brian says.

“It’s another busy year for us in retail and we’re now working on other planning applications where we would like to introduce more quick service restaurants with Burger King.  This will bring the iconic BK brand to even more locations in the south of Ireland.

“We’re also looking at where we believe there’s opportunity to expand our instore offers by acquiring more land or by developing within the existing footprint or boundary of the land that we own at possibly another 10 locations, which we would look at developing over the next 3-5 years.”

Challenging backdrop

All this innovation has taken place against a challenging backdrop which saw the industry pitchforked from the pandemic into a fuel crisis and a cost of living crisis, as well as national labour shortages.

Brian says Maxol has been very fortunate in that its key suppliers were able to maintain fuel supplies. “We had to make sure that we kept in daily contact with what was happening on the forecourt, to ensure our forward estimates were matching demand. We worked very closely with our key suppliers south and north, which was crucial” he says.

“One of the biggest challenges was trying to keep track of the volatility and the rapid upward move in wholesale prices and reflecting both upward and downward changes in the market fairly and quickly.

“On certain days there were double digit increases in the cost of product, so depending on when our retailers were receiving deliveries, that impacted very much on what their retail price could be.

“It was certainly very challenging because I don’t think we had ever seen that kind of rapid increase in daily wholesale prices. Thankfully, we didn’t have any stock issues. At times it could have become quite tight but none of our service stations ever had to restrict sales to customers.

Changing customer behaviours

“One of the interesting things that we saw during this period was a change in customer buying behaviours. Clearly the media was very much on top of what was happening, and people were trying to buy before prices moved up, and equally before the duty cuts were announced, so you would have seen a very low demand for fuel on the day when those duty cuts were due to apply, south and north.

He says poor communication by the Irish government allowed the public to believe that prices would drop at midnight after the duty cut.

“That created confusion, and it also created some bad feeling with customers, retailers and frontline staff, which was unnecessary and indeed I think it was recognised by the government that they should have handled things better.

“We didn’t have the same situation in Northern Ireland and the UK because I think the communication that was coming from government was clearer that prices wouldn’t drop immediately because retailers were going to have to sell out the higher paid stock.

“It really was all hands-on deck and it was a case of trying to manage the situation and navigate the various challenges that appeared each day – but we did it and we think we’ve got through the worst of it. Thankfully in recent weeks, energy prices on oil have been coming back and prices are certainly coming down on petrol and diesel.”

Double hit

The war in Ukraine has led to a double hit on energy and commodity prices, coming on the heels of the post-Covid supply chain disruption, he says.

“Economists both in the UK and Ireland are saying recession is likely to follow towards the end of this year and the early indicators are suggesting the extent of recession is likely to be more severe in the UK than in the south of Ireland.

“It’s quite unique that we’re going into a recession with full employment, which is unheard of. This recession is being driven by the imbalance in supply and demand. So if demand starts to pull back and there is a rebalancing within supplies, it may well be a short recession, but no one is certain as to what will unfold over the next 18 to 24 months.”

With a full employment market, it’s proving difficult to attract staff into the sector and this is leading to wage inflation, he says. “In the south of Ireland we’ve got new social reform legislation coming through such as living wage, pension enrolment, statutory sick pay etc and if all of those changes are implemented at roughly the same time or over the next 12 months, that could add 9% or more to typical wage costs,” Brian warns.

Labour challenges

“I don’t think anyone is objecting to the social reform and legislation that government wants to bring in, but it shouldn’t happen all at once and certainly not having just come out of a pandemic and straight into an energy and a cost of living crisis.

“We would hope for a bit of common sense and that legislation changes are not all applied at one time to try to keep wage costs at a manageable and appropriate level to maintain business viability if nothing else.”

As a frontline service, retailers have worked hard during some very difficult times, Brian says.

“It would just be nice to get back into a much more normal trading environment but we don’t see that happening, effectively for the next 18-24 months.

Building the future

“We’re 102 years old this year and we’re in the middle of reworking and signing off our new strategic plan which will take us up to 2027,  it’s based on building on the good foundations of what we’ve already put in place.

“We want to continue to look after our independent retailers, we want to look after our people in head office and we want to support our suppliers who have been good to us because it works both ways.

“That’s what we’re looking forward to; continuing to build upon the good things that we’ve already put in place while supporting all of our business partners that have supported us over the last three turbulent years, which have been some of the most challenging in our long history.

“But we have continued to both invest and innovate during this time, a highlight of which included the launch of our first Loyalty App.  This, together with our new flagship EV hub, new sites and ongoing developments right across our network, mean that there is a lot to look forward to for Maxol and all of our partners.”

To read the full feature in the latest issue of IFCR, click HERE.

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The more consumers use the Maxol Loyalty App, the more they are rewarded by Ireland’s convenience forecourt retailer.

The Maxol Loyalty App is the result of extensive research and a six-figure investment by the forecourt retailer, which claims it is the most technologically advanced app in its sector.

FuelPay works by using geo-fencing and the user’s phone GPS to determine which service station the customer is located at, and customers can turn on the fuel pump with their phone by entering the specific pump number on the app without exiting their car.

The app, designed and developed with Liquid Barcodes, a loyalty technology company specialising in the convenience store and food services industries, will be available to customers across 76 Maxol locations in Ireland.

Brian Donaldson, Maxol Group CEO, said: “As a family-owned Irish company we have a strong network of loyal customers that have helped us grow from strength to strength. This app is another milestone in continuing to reward and retain loyal customers and help move our business forward, both digitally and technologically.

“FuelPay will also be available shortly for all Maxol fuel card customers, which includes small to medium businesses, large corporate organisations and state governing bodies.”

Maxol said the loyalty proposition was conceived following in-depth research on global best practice and includes two main elements: “digital stamps” to reward frequent purchases of coffee and car washes, and “stars” to reward recent visits and customer referrals who sign up for the app.

The app has a wide range of offers and rewards for members across products such as ROSA Coffee (buy five, get a sixth free), car wash (buy four, receive a complimentary car wash) and lots more.  All members will also receive exclusive monthly offers that will rotate between confectionery, snacks, and beverages during the year.

The app also has a station finder that will locate the nearest Maxol service station quickly and if a customer is having an issue trying to figure out the right oil for their car, they can use the Maxol Engine Oil Advisor feature to steer them in the right direction.

The app also introduces a new community of Gold Star members for customers, offering a gold star for those who spend €5 in-store or €30 on fuel.  When a customer collects 10 gold stars over a 90-day period, they become a Gold Member, which gives them access to more offers and special treats.

Maxol has invested more than €210m in expanding and upgrading its service station network over the past decade, acquiring 23 freehold properties and completing large-scale developments of 25 others, together with 50 smaller site projects.

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The research findings were released to coincide with the launch of the 12 Days of Kindness, which is part of Maxol’s annual Christmas campaign to raise much needed funds for mental health charity Aware.

During November and December, 10c from every cup of ROSA Coffee and hot beverage purchased in a Maxol service station is donated to Aware by Maxol. And, in a bid to blast this year’s €70,000 fundraising target and help spread some extra kindness, Maxol is inviting customers to buy a ROSA Coffee for a stranger in the 12 Days of Kindness.

How it works

From 1^st to 12^th December, customers simply buy two coffees at participating Maxol service stations, one for themselves and one for a stranger. The customer can also write a message of kindness on a little card to let another person know that there’s a free coffee waiting for them.  All cards will be hung from the service station’s Kindness Christmas Tree.

The card can be used by another customer to pay for their hot drink and brighten up their day or it might inspire them to pay it forward and buy a coffee for someone else. Any cards of kindness not redeemed will be donated to local charities.

Most people (87%) feel good when they perform an act of kindness and there is widespread agreement (89%) that we need to be kinder to one another, according to the Maxol research.

Contagious kindness

Three quarters (75%) of people say that kindness is contagious and that’s the essence of Maxol’s 12 Days of Kindness initiative according to CEO, Brian Donaldson.

“This is our fifth year to support the work of Aware with our Christmas Coffee Cup campaign and with the help of our customers, we are hopeful that this will be our biggest fundraising year ever,” he said.

“If there is one positive to be taken from the past 20 months it’s the many acts of kindness, big and small, that we have witnessed or experienced during the pandemic. Aware is a vital charity that needs support, particularly as a result of the pandemic so it can continue to provide support, education and information services to those impacted by anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and related mood conditions.”

Gift of kindness

Leading clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy believes that the best gift we can give this Christmas is the gift of kindness.

““There are so many things out of our control right now but being kind is the one thing in our lives that’s within our control.   There are many benefits to being; 85% of people feel that we need to be kinder to ourselves and I echo that sentiment,” said Dr Murphy.

“Kindness doesn’t have to involve grand gestures.  By being inclusive, generous of spirit or perhaps by buying a stranger a cup of ROSA Coffee, which in turn will benefit Aware, we can all cultivate and encourage kindness.”

Aware provides free support, education and information services to people impacted by depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood-related disorders. The charity has reported consistently high levels of demand for its services since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Maxol has raised almost €600,000 for Aware since partnering with the charity in 2016.

The Nationwide Study was conducted as part of the iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus Survey among 1,000 adults from 18 – 21 November 2021. 

Caption: Stephen McBride (Aware), Dr Eddie Murphy, Brian Donaldson, Susannah Jackson (Aware) and Leah & Aoife McArdle

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The latest figures for the fuel giant showed a profit before exceptional items of €17.1M for 2020, a not-unexpected fall of 7.5% on 2019 given the Covid-19 impact on trading conditions that included 5km travel limits and rolling lockdowns, he revealed in an update this morning.

Despite the challenging conditions that prevailed between January and May 2021, including Brexit and lockdowns, the outlook for the full year 2021 is positive and is set to outperform 2020, Brian Donaldson said.

“There are a number of factors that have contributed to the strong company performance since May, but we have pinpointed one that has probably had the most positive impact on our business. The significant rise in staycations provided not only the tourism sector with a bounce, but the forecourt and convenience sector has also been a beneficiary,” he said.

“Not only were consumers visiting our forecourts for fuel, but the Maxol network proved a convenient pit stop for snacks, confectionery and deli items and we anticipate that this trend will continue for the coming months.”

Maxol also announced a €20M investment in the business for 2022 across multiple sites including Sandyford, Castletroy, Kilkenny, Clarecastle and Donore Road in the Republic of Ireland.

2021 investment programme

While the impact of Covid-19 saw a number of development and refurbishment programmes delayed, Maxol continued to invest in the business.

A €7M investment programme in 2021 included the refurbishment of two key sites in Ballycoolin  in Dublin and Riverside in Navan in Meath.

The multi-million Euro investment programme, which extended to a number of sites across the country, also saw the introduction of drive-thru Burger Kings, new indoor seating areas, extended outdoor seating areas, additional car parking spaces, car wash upgrades, the creation of more retail space, larger Maxol deli counters and the introduction of  Premium fuel pumps to additional sites as part of Maxol’s carbon neutral programme, which sees 100% carbon emissions off-set on Premium fuel purchases.  Since 2012, Maxol has invested over €230M in its network.

“Our investment programme was an important undertaking not only in terms of alignment to our growth strategy, but because we have a strong sense of purpose that includes recognising the role we can play in helping to rebuild local economies,” Mr Donaldson said.

“Maxol isn’t just a national brand, it’s a local brand. Our sites are run by local people, employing local people, serving local people.  This model has served us well for more than 100 years and its vigour was tested, and resilience proven during the past 20 months.”

Robust model

While people moved in their droves to shop online during the height of the pandemic, an increase in ecommerce doesn’t mean that high street or convenience stores will become obsolete, he said.

“There are many advantages to online shopping and indeed, a move to online kept many Irish businesses afloat when their doors were shut.  But consumers have not abandoned what they see as a more experiential, personal way to shop that isn’t purely transactional,” he said.

People are sociable beings by nature and our network model, and the importance we place on our food service, stood up to the test of significant behavioural change during Covid-19.”

Over the past five years, Maxol has been transitioning from its position as a fuel brand selling food and grocery to a convenience food service brand that also sells fuel, along with other energies for mobility.

“If anything, the Covid-19 crisis proved the robustness of our evolving business model,” Mr Donaldson said.

“While fuel sales dropped by up to 70% during the first week of lockdown, sales of food and grocery remained strong.  Many people didn’t want to shop in large, busier stores so their local Maxol became the go-to for their everyday essentials.”

The Maxol Group is investing in more eat-in areas in forecourts where there is space to expand and the aim is to become a destination for friends and families looking to catch up over a cup of coffee, a hot meal or a freshly prepared lunch from the deli.

“We are growing our food offering all of the time and are gearing up for the launch of our third drive-thru Burger King at Ballycoolin in Dublin, together with our first Apache Pizza outlet in Donabate, Co. Dublin,” Mr Donaldson said.

Maxol is partnering with another Irish family business, OKR Group, on these well-known food franchise brands, responding to the growing demand for hot, freshly prepared food at mealtimes. This will be Maxol’s first foray into home delivery with Apache Pizza, which will offer customers greater choice and convenience from local, family providers.

Local and loyal

Maxol revealed that 65% of the company’s bakery and deli goods are sourced from local producers including scones from O’Keeffe’s Bakery in Cork; apple turnovers from the family-owned Golden Bake company in Dublin; muffins from Milish Foods in Dublin and traybakes from Coolhill Farm in Wexford.  Using Irish milk and cream, family-owned Silver Pail in Cork supply Maxol with its new ice-cream brand, N’ice Cream.

Freshly brewed coffee is a key driver of customer loyalty and Maxol’s exclusive ROSA coffee brand is expected to hit €9M in sales this year, the most popular variant being a 12oz Americano.

Minerals, the biggest selling category product in Maxol service stations account for 22% of total shop sales, followed by confectionery (22%) and dairy (13.5%).

Car wash

More than 600,000 vehicles will pass through a Maxol car wash this year, with 36% of all car washes taking place at the weekend.

While volumes were hit during the January – March lockdown period, Brian Donaldson says that the car wash facility is a critical part of the Maxol offering that will endure long after the demise of internal combustion engine vehicles.

“A staple of the forecourt model, which is an often overlooked and undervalued jewel in the crown, is the car wash facility.  As we transition to alternative fuelled vehicles, we can’t forget that they too will need to be washed. And, by making our car wash more environmentally friendly, using recycled rainwater wherever possible, we are future proofing a key, sustainable service offering that is really important to our business,” he said.

Maxol invested €600K in rebranding and upgrading Maxol car wash facilities in 2021.

Carbon footprint 

Maxol says it is also looking to reduce its environmental footprint and support customers in making more sustainable choices.

It was one of the first retailers to offer 100% compostable cups and lids, discounts are provided to customers who use a reusable cup when purchasing hot drinks, and the company has been installing compostable and recyclable bins across its service stations to support customers’ recycling efforts.

The company recently marked the first full year of its carbon offsetting programme that aims to offset 100% of carbon emissions with its Premium fuel range, which has fewer pollutants and is now available at 40 Maxol sites.

Tree planting

The programme also supports a number of green initiatives such as the planting of 10,000 trees in Ireland, local community projects and global projects designed to off set carbon emissions.

“The Maxol Group is very transparent and also very serious about its commitment to the environment and investing in ways to reduce our carbon footprint,” Mr Donaldson said.

“We do not pretend to be something that we are not.  We sell diesel and we sell petrol and will continue to do so as long as these fuels are needed.   There’s no silver bullet that will suddenly transform the automotive market overnight, but we are looking at all of the ways that our business can change and make better, greener choices.

“Every investment and every decision begins with an examination of the impact it will have on the environment; we take a ‘sustainable first’ approach to every operational decision.

“We are working with KPMG on a programme that will allow us to better benchmark and measure our carbon savings year-on-year and that is an important step in our sustainable journey.”

Twelve new dealer sites were added to the Maxol network during 2021, bringing the total number of Maxol service stations around Ireland to 242.  More than 80 people are employed directly and more than 1,000 indirectly by The Maxol Group across the island of Ireland.

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This includes investing more than €1M each for the refurbishment of two high-profile sites – Maxol Ballycoolin, Dublin and Maxol Riverside in Navan.

Brian Donaldson, CEO, The Maxol Group said, “Much like last year, 2021 hasn’t been quite the year we had planned for. Our investment programme in Ireland came to a halt on several occasions due to the pandemic, but we remain committed to our plans, and it is great to be back on track and looking ahead to the future with confidence. 

“The past ten years have seen us transition from being a fuel centric brand to one that is more known for our food offering. To achieve this, we have been redeveloping existing service stations by introducing more eat-in and seating areas, together with family friendly spaces, wherever possible.”

The Ballycoolin site includes a new Maxol Deli and a drive thru Burger King. The external seating area will benefit from additional benches, screens, lighting, and umbrellas, to enable COVID-friendly outside seating alternatives.

Maxol Riverside will include the premium artisan burger brand Ross Burger. The shop is also being extended and provides for a larger new Maxol deli, a new customer seating area, additional car parking, a new off licence and a new car wash.

The company recently invested €3M in Maxol Newbridge, which saw the Kildare service station transformed with an extensive upgrade to the forecourt as well as the opening of the company’s first drive thru Burger King.

Work will also commence at other Maxol service stations across the country and depending on the site will include shop extensions, premium fuel, additional car parking spaces, new food franchises, Maxol Deli upgrades, drive thru Burger Kings and car wash upgrades.

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