DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowans are no stranger to brand loyalty—especially when it comes to their preferred gas station.
But one longtime local chain will be under new management, as Utah-based FJ Management, which owns the Maverik chain of gas stations, announced that they'll be acquiring Kum & Go.
"Maverik is the dominant convenience store chain once you get fairly west to what's known as the inner mountain area, they have a leadership in terms of number of stores, but also in how they do business," said Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores.
Kum & Go has been based out of Iowa for more than 60 years; the company owns more than 400 convenience stores, mostly in the Midwest.
That means that once the sale is closed, Maverik's footprint will be doubling, including 800 total stores in 20 states.
That's a pretty big jump for Maverik, and experts believe the move makes sense, as the stores were competing not just with each other, but with most basic retail stores, too.
"They're both independently top 20 stores in terms of store count," Lenard said. "Together, they're top 10. And interestingly, Iowa has nine of the top 10."
So does this deal mean that Iowans may find themselves shopping at a Maverik in the near future? There's no sure answer yet, but Lenard said there's a chance Iowans might not have to say goodbye to the beloved brand.
"In some cases, you just see that they're just run as different brands because that's what fits," he said. "That's what people know. There may be some tweaks, there may be more of an overhaul. There's really no sense to it right now."