Circle K to pump €55m into Topaz rebrand and new forecourts

Circle K, the Canadian group that operates the largest network of fuel stations in the State, will next week begin the process of rebranding it from Topaz.

The group will also withdraw the Re:Store retail brand that currently hangs over the door of up to 40 per cent of the stores within its network, although it will live on in the packaging of some in-store food products.

The €20 million rebadge of the 420-strong network of forecourts is expected to take 18 months. When the rebrand is completed, the Circle K moniker will sit on top all of the forecourt canopies in the group.

The Circle K brand will replace Re:Store as the convenience retail brand only on the 160 stores within the network that are operated by the company. The remaining 260 retail outlets in its network run by independent operators will continue to trade under a variety of brands, including Spar and Centra.

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Circle K, whose parent Alimentation Couche-Tard bought Topaz from Denis O’Brien in 2016, will also invest €35 million developing four new motorway service stations in Wexford, Westmeath and two in Kildare. In addition to two new motorway stations in Dublin and Cork, the new developments will add about 240 jobs, bringing the total employed to 2,400.

Final leg

Niall Anderton, managing director of Circle K in Ireland, said the Irish rebrand was the final leg of a Europe-wide rebranding by the Canadian group, which also owns the former Statoil network on the continent.

“Russia finishes its rebrand [from Statoil] this week, and then Ireland takes up the baton,” said Mr Anderton.

He said the rebranding of the canopies would be a long process, with crews able to complete seven sites each week. The rebranding of the forecourt retail stores, or “boxes”, would be faster.

Mr Anderton said Circle K would also launch a television and outdoor marketing campaign in the summer to highlight the new brand.