erpecnews caught up with EG Group Commercial Director Illyas Munshi, to discuss the company’s rise and their plans for the US market.
In 2001, EG Group as it is known today was a lone site in Blackburn, UK. Now 17 years on a dynamic and innovative approach to fuel, retail convenience and food-to-go has seen the UK based company grow exponentially. Today, EG Group boasts 5,000 sites across eight international markets, including the UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Germany and most recently, through a series of acquisitions, the United States.
The company, founded by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa has, over the years, established brand partnerships with leading global retail brands in fuel, convenience retail and food-to-go including ESSO, BP, Shell, Carrefour, Louise Delhaize, SPAR, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC and Subway.
“EG Group has enjoyed a phenomenal enterprise journey and at the heart of the business model has been the desire to invest and transform the typical kiosk style petrol station offer into a much more compelling fuel, convenience retail and food-to-go offer and to create one-stop destinations that satisfy multiple customer missions,” said Illyas Munshi, Commercial Director of EG Group.
The latest acquisitions of 762 Kroger convenience sites and 225 Minit Mart sites in the US present a new opportunity for EG Group. Whilst the company has not yet announced specific details about the make-up of the new sites, it can be presumed that the company will follow a similar format to their sites through the UK and parts of Europe by leveraging their existing brand connections.
“The US market has always been of interest and many of the brand partners we work with are US centric. Over the years they have been continually advising us to develop a comprehensive gas station offer similar to the UK market,” said Illyas.
“An important lesson learnt from Continental Europe has been to tailor the offer to be in line with local consumer trends and the market. “An advantage EG Group has is that there are established brand partnerships, so this enables market opportunities to be realised a lot quicker. However, relevant local brands may need to be approached as well.”
“An advantage EG Group has is that there are existing brand partnerships, so this enables market opportunities to be realised a lot quicker.”
The combination of EG Group’s commitment to international growth opportunities and their portfolio of brand partnerships would suggest that further expansion in the US can’t be too far from reality. Whilst Illyas was unable to discuss any acquisitions that may be on the horizon, he did state that the group is continuing to review opportunities.
Ilyas and Zuber Issa, Founder and Co-CEO of EG Group will be at the NACS PEI Show, alongside the US team at the Las Vegas Convention Center. “The aim is to engage existing suppliers and prospective partners who would like to work with our business,” added Illyas.
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