Over the last couple of decades, dramatic changes have been made to the gasoline retailing landscape.
www.canadianfuels.ca
There are several basic operating structures that can broadly be categorized as either controlled and non-controlled. A controlled site means the marketer owns the fuel inventory and sets the price at the site, and non-controlled means the retailer owns the fuel inventory and sets the price.
The controlled sites often operate as commissioned agents, meaning the marketer retains ownership of the fuel and the retailer is paid a commission on its sales. A non-controlled retailer simply buys fuel from the marketer, and resells at its independently owned and operated retail site.
Non-refiner marketers operating refiner-branded sites buy fuel on a branded contract from refiners. These marketers can also operate under their own brands. One example of this is Parkland Fuels operating sites under the Pioneer banner.
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In the survey, we identified 69 companies in Canada managing at least two stations, and of those marketers, 59 operate at least some of their retail network under their own brands.
The big three names in refining, however, still dominate. Suncor, Esso or Shell brands appear at 39 per cent of stations across the country. However, they maintain price control at only 11 per cent of stations.