Convenience store giant EG Group plans to begin rebannering its Tom Thumb stores as Cumberland Farms this spring.
Plans call for all 113 Tom Thumb c-stores in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama — acquired from The Kroger Co. in 2018 — to be converted to Cumberland Farms locations starting in May, with the transition expected to take 18 to 24 months, Westborough, Mass.-based EG Group said yesterday. Impacted Tom Thumb employees will remain employed under the Cumberland Farms brand.
The converted stores will have Cumberland Farms’ latest design, equipment and food menu, including a wide range of hot grab-and-go food options and the chain’s premium Farmhouse Blend coffee, according to EG Group. Users of the SmartPay Rewards app also will continue to receive their fuel savings benefit of 10 cents per gallon.
EG Group said the converted Tom Thumb stores will incorporate Cumberland Farms' latest branding, store design and offerings.
Cumberland Farms has approximately 600 stores in nine states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Florida.
In deciding to change banners, EG Group noted that it took a data-driven approach and analyzed a number of factors in depth, including consumer affinity for the Tom Thumb brand and competition. The company said the conversion plan also marks its latest move to optimize EG America locations and grow via new stores and acquisitions, including last year’s purchase of all 34 Sprint Food Stores convenience/fuel locations in Georgia and South Carolina.
Currently, the EG America subsidiary operates more than 1,700 locations across 10 convenience/fuel retail banners, including Cumberland Farms, Certified Oil, Fastrac Café, KwikShop, Loaf 'N Jug, Minit Mart, QuikStop, Sprint Food Stores, Tom Thumb and Turkey Hill.
“We are excited to embark on this rebrand and position EG America for continued growth within the industry. Completion of this project will not only benefit us financially, but will more importantly offer an enhanced experience for both our guests and team members,” EG America President George Fournier said in a statement. “We decided to move forward with this brand conversion after conducting extensive research that projected the tremendous growth opportunity to expand the Cumberland Farms brand. In addition to updating and refreshing all of the stores with the Cumberland Farms design, layout and equipment, we plan to bring expanded foodservice offerings, including a new fried chicken concept, to guests in these communities.”
Blackburn, England-based EG Group has more than 6,000 convenience, grocery and merchandise, foodservice and fuel locations across North America, Europe and Australia. Part-owned by TDR Capital, the company entered the U.S. market in April 2018 with the $2.15 billion acquisition of The Kroger Co.’s convenience retail business, which totaled 762 stores. Also, in late 2020, EG Group co-CEOs the Issa brothers and TDR Capital in late 2020 entered a nearly $9 billion deal to acquire majority ownership of United Kingdom supermarket chain Asda from Walmart.
