''ampm'' (rarely "am/pm") is a
convenience store
A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
with branches located in several U.S. states, including
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and in several countries such as
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. The brand pulled out of the Eastern United States in 2012, but returned a decade later.
The ''ampm'' brand is owned by BP America, Inc.,
[ a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, ]Atlantic Richfield Company
ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...
(ARCO), in 2000. In the United States, the stores are usually attached to an ARCO or BP-branded gas station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
. The first location opened in Southern California in 1978.[
]
History
1978–2007
ampm is owned by a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic Richfield Company
ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...
(ARCO), in 2000. The first ampm location opened in Southern California in 1978.[ The chain would also have a presence in the ]Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
at ARCO locations until ARCO spun those operations off into Atlantic Petroleum
Atlantic Petroleum was an oil company in the Eastern United States headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a direct descendant of the Standard Oil Trust. It was also one of the companies that merged with Richfield Oil Corporation to form ...
in 1985, with those stores being rebranded as A-Plus. A-Plus remains owned by Sunoco
Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...
(which acquired Atlantic in 1988), though all the company-owned stores were sold to 7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
in 2018.
The Japanese chain was originally established by Kyodo Oil Company (later Japan Energy
was a Japanese petroleum company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Mining Holdings (now JXTG Nippon Mining & Metals). The petroleum products of Japan Energy Corporation were sold by filling stations under the brand name JOMO (for "joy of mo ...
) in 1989; many of its stores are located within Kyodo Oil (later JOMO) filling stations
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasol ...
. It remained under Japan Energy control until it was sold to Reins International Inc, an operator of Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
-style restaurants in Japan, in 2004.
2008–2011: BP Connect branding
In spring 2008, U.S. branches of the BP Connect brand of convenience stores rebranded to ''ampm'', which also brought the brand under the BP banner after exclusively being under the ARCO banner. The decision saw markets with a large BP presence, such as Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
, and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, face rebranding as ampm stores and TV ads.["AM/PM Brand Heads East, Fueled By Owner BP’s Sponsorships"](_blank)
IEG Sponsorship Report (21 April 2008) In August 2008, BP announced its decision to sell the majority of its retail operations in the Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
area to Apopka
Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...
-based Medallion Convenience Stores. Also in 2008, the Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
stores were sold to Ricker Oil, which began operating them under the BP/Ricker's identity; those stores are now owned and operated by GetGo
GetGo, also known as GetGo Cafe & Market, is a convenience store chain owned and operated by Giant Eagle. Both are based in suburban Pittsburgh. The chain operates locations in Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Histor ...
. The Pittsburgh area stores were sold to 7-Eleven; the stores alongside 7-Eleven's later acquisition of ampm spinoff A-Plus supplemented 7-Eleven's legacy locations in the area usually branded with Exxon
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
or Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
. The Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
locations were sold to locally-based Duchess Shoppe in 2010. In November 2009, FamilyMart
is a Japanese convenience store franchise chain. It is Japan's second largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven. There are now 24,574 stores worldwide in Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Its ...
announced its acquisition of am/pm Japan.["FamilyMart Acquires AMPM Japan"](_blank)
''Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'' (30 December 2009) All ''ampm'' stores in Japan then subsequently rebranded as FamilyMart.
2012–Mid 2022
In 2012, in Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, both ampm and Fresh Market stores were owned by the same company. By the end of that year, there were 38 ampm locations in the country.["Modern Convenience Stores are Displacing Pulperias in Costa Rica"](_blank)
Jaime Lopez, ''The Costa Rica Star
The Costa Rica Star is an English-language news publication that has been online since late 2011. As of 2014, the focus of this website was to cater to the English-speaking expatriate population in Costa Rica, particularly those living in the Ce ...
'' (1 June 2012) In August 2012 it was reported that BP had divested, or was planning to divest, all ampm operations East of the Rockies. In 2012, BP announced it would withdraw ampm stores from the eastern US by the end of that year, naming specifically Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Orlando. At the time, there were 200 ampm convenience stores in BP fuel outlets in the eastern US, with 900 locations in the western US alongside BP and ARCO outlets. This occurred around the same time that BP divested ARCO itself to Tesoro Corporation
Tesoro Corporation, known briefly as Andeavor, was a Fortune 100 and a Fortune Global 500 company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with 2017 annual revenues of $35 billion, and over 14,000 employees worldwide. Based on 2017 revenue, the comp ...
and licensed the ARCO name from Tesoro for the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
and Northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
while retaining ownership of ampm. As of 2021, BP franchises ampm to independent ARCO owners in the Southwest United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...
,["BP ampm Exits Eastern U.S."](_blank)
Author, ''CStore Decisions'' (29 August 2012) though company-owned ampm stores in the area converted to Speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
following Marathon Petroleum
Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a corporate spin-off in 2011.
Following it ...
's purchase of ARCO in 2018.
In 2014, the brand was focusing on food such as "coffee, bakery, fresh sandwiches and hot foods, along with an extensive condiment bar," as well as fountain drinks and refrigerated display cases. It had a value line, "ampm Good Stuff." ampm had 950 stores overall, with headquarters in La Palma, California
La Palma (Spanish for "The Palm") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 15,568 at the 2010 Census, up from 15,408 at the 2000 census.
In 2013, La Palma was ranked 31st in the "Best places to live" among sma ...
, and operations in five states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.["BP AMERICA (AMPM)"](_blank)
''CSP Daily News'' (2014) ampm was nearing its 1,000th location by November 2017.["It's All About 'Mojo' for BP's ampm Division"](_blank)
Melissa Kress & Danielle Romano, ''CS News'' (13 November 2017) In early 2019, BP had "recently opened its first new-to-industry ampm site" in 12 years, marking the company's 1,000th ampm location in a BP outlet.["Amoco Returns for an Encore"](_blank)
Peter Romeo, ''CSP Daily News'' Peter Romeo, (18 January 2018) In May 2019, Ipiranga was operating ampm stores in Brazil, with 2,500 ampm stores at gas stations in the country.["Can Backseat Snacks Help Uber Take Brazil?"](_blank)
Julie Walmsley, ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' (20 May 2019)
In 2019, BP acquired an ownership stake in rival chain Thorntons LLC, and in 2021 announced it would acquire full ownership from partner ArcLight Capital Partners. The deal would make ampm and Thorntons sister chains, though BP plans to keep operations separate. With Thorntons being primarily in the Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
and Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, the two chains do not overlap geographically.
In August 2022, BP opened their first East Coast ampm convenience store in the New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough of The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. It also marked the first time the West Coast chain had a presence in the Eastern United States since pulling out in 2012.
Dispersion
With the division of ARCO between BP and Tesoro
Tesoro or El Tesoro may refer to:
People
* Ashley Tesoro (born 1983), American actress, model, and singer
** Tesoro Ministry Foundation, a charity
*Donya Tesoro (born 1991), a Filipina politician
*Giuliana Tesoro (1921–2002), Italian-born Ame ...
, West Coast franchising rights were split between BP (Washington, Oregon and Northern California) and Tesoro subsidiary company Treasure Franchise Company LLC (Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Southern California).
Franchised and BP-owned units of ''ampm'' are also found in parts of Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, usually co-located with a Pemex
Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...
(which is the main provider of gas in the country) and in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
usually, with an Ipiranga station. In Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
they can be found in Repsol
Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31[Originally an init ...]
-YPF
YPF S.A. (, formerly ; English: "Fiscal Oilfields") is a vertically integrated, majority state-owned Argentine energy company, engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, and the transportation, refining, and marketing of gas and petr ...
/ ACA stations.
See also
*List of companies of Japan
Location of Japan
This is a list of notable companies based in Japan. For further information on the types of business entities in this country and their abbreviations, see " Business entities in Japan". Note that 株式会社 can be (and freque ...
*List of convenience stores
The following is a list of convenience stores or convenience shops organized by geographical location, and by the country where the headquarters are located.
Multinational chains
Convenience stores by country Africa
Nigeria
* Westgate supers ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1978 establishments in California
ARCO
BP subsidiaries
Convenience stores of the United States
American companies established in 1978
Retail companies established in 1978
Fast-food chains of the United States