LAVAL, QC, Feb. 7, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Alimentation
Couche-Tard Inc. ("Couche-Tard" or the "Company") and its global
brand, Circle K, make it official: "Yes, Will Ferrell - Circle K loves Norway and we're ready!" By being number one
for EV charging offers in Norway -
home to its premier global electric vehicle laboratory - Circle K
is ready for the future today with EV charging solutions!
Leading up to Superbowl Sunday in the
United States, General Motors launched an electrical vehicle
(EV) campaign where comedian Will
Ferrell attacks Norway for
being ahead on EVs. Circle K responded with its own campaign "We're
ready" where Norsemen-actress Silje Torp Færavaag and its own
employees play leading roles: https://youtu.be/bPsFziaUj2A
We're ready!
Circle K leads the way in Norway for EV charging and has more charging
stations and home and office charging solutions than any other fuel
retailer in Norway. For the last
three years, Norway has been home
to the company's global EV lab, where a dedicated team is learning
all it can about electric vehicle charging and building a more
sustainable future. Starting this year, Circle K is bringing
that know-how to North America,
and plans to be ready and waiting as more EV customers hit the
roads, making their customers' lives a little easier every day.
Brian Hannasch, President and
CEO: "We are very pleased to have started our journey in
Norway, where Circle K is the
number one destination for EV customers. We are meeting those
customers at our stores and in their homes and offices, creating a
total solution for their charging needs. With our great team,
growing expertise, and progressive locations in Norway, we have learned so much in the last
few years, and we are excited to bring that knowledge and
solutions to our global network, including North America, over the coming months and
years."
Hans-Olav Høidahl, EVP Operations Europe: "At our EV
lab in Norway, our dedicated teams
have gained years of experience in the most mature market for
electric vehicles. We always want to offer our customers the best
possible experience, and Norway
provides us the perfect testing conditions for first generation EV
technology including chargers, vehicles, and payment methods. I'm
proud that Norwegians see Circle K as the leading destination for
EV charging, and I look forward to expanding our network of
high-speed chargers and home charging solutions outside
Norway over the coming months and
years."
Currently, Circle K operates a high-speed charging network with
more than 500 chargers on its forecourts in Norway. The chargers are a combination of
company-owned high-speed EV chargers and partner charging offers
with Tesla and Ionity. At its busiest Norwegian Circle K highway
locations, the sites are equipped with 20-40 high-speed chargers.
In downtown Oslo, Circle K was the
first to begin replacing fuel pumps with high-speed chargers.
Circle K has also expanded its offer with over 4,200 home and
workplace charge points.
As the premier EV charging provider in Norway, the company is ready to bring its
capacity and knowledge to North
America and other parts of its global network to further its
journey toward a more sustainable future. In the coming months, the
company will start to roll-out electric vehicle charging solutions
at North America locations,
beginning in its Quebec and
California markets, with a
combination of Circle K branded chargers and partner charging
solutions. We're ready!
About Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
Couche-Tard is the
leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. Circle K is its
global brand outside of Quebec,
Canada. In the United
States, it is the largest independent convenience store
operator in terms of the number of company-operated stores. In
Europe, Couche-Tard is a leader in
convenience store and road transportation fuel retail in the
Scandinavian countries (Norway,
Sweden and Denmark), in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), as well as in Ireland, and has an important presence in
Poland.
As of October 11, 2020,
Couche-Tard's network comprised 9,261 convenience stores throughout
North America, including
8,085 stores with road transportation fuel dispensing. Its
North American network consists of 18 business units,
including 14 in the United
States covering 47 states and 4 in Canada covering all 10 provinces.
Approximately 109,000 people are employed throughout its network
and at its service offices in North
America.
In Europe, Couche-Tard operates
a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia through 10 business units. As of
October 11, 2020, Couche-Tard's
network comprised 2,722 stores, the majority of which offer
road transportation fuel and convenience products while the others
are unmanned automated fuel stations which only offer road
transportation fuel. Couche-Tard also offers other products,
including aviation fuel and energy for stationary engines.
Including employees at branded franchise stores, approximately
22,000 people work in its retail network, terminals and service
offices across Europe.
In addition, under licensing agreements, more than 2,220 stores
were operated under the Circle K banner in 15 other
countries and territories (Cambodia, Egypt, Guam,
Guatemala, Honduras, Hong
Kong, Indonesia,
Jamaica, Macau, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam), which brings the worldwide total
network to more than 14,200 stores.
For more information on Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. or to
consult its quarterly Consolidated Financial Statements and
Management Discussion and Analysis, please visit:
https://corpo.couche–tard.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements set forth in this press release, which describes
Couche-Tard's objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or
forecasts, may constitute forward looking statements within the
meaning of securities legislation. Positive or negative verbs such
as "believe", "can", "shall", "intend", "expect", "estimate",
"assume" and other related expressions are used to identify such
statements. Couche-Tard would like to point out that, by their very
nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
such that its results, or the measures it adopts, could differ
materially from those indicated in or underlying these statements,
or could have an impact on the degree of realization of a
particular projection. Major factors that may lead to a material
difference between Couche Tard's actual results and the projections
or expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements include
the effects of the integration of acquired businesses and the
ability to achieve projected synergies, uncertainty related to the
duration and severity of the current COVID-19 pandemic,
fluctuations in margins on motor fuel sales, competition in the
convenience store and retail motor fuel industries, exchange rate
variations, and such other risks as described in detail from time
to time in the reports filed by Couche-Tard with securities
regulatory authorities in Canada.
Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws,
Couche-Tard disclaims any intention or obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking
information in this release is based on information available as of
the date of the release.
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SOURCE Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.