2005 — what a year. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and related events left most of us wondering what the next day would bring. Day-today operations within our industry were at the mercy of factors beyond our control. It was a confusing, uncertain and volatile period. Nonetheless, one common trait SIGMA members share is perseverance. We are committed to survive and overcome. We are strong and competitive — able to move forward and succeed even when the odds are stacked against us.

This unfettered spirit is as true today as it was more than 50 years ago when the purest independent marketers were unbranded or private-brand marketers. Gasoline private branders emerged as a significant market force in the 1940s. These independent marketers embodied a flare of showmanship and became known as braggarts, price cutters and “hell-raisers” in general. They built and operated their own retail outlets, bought product from various sources and resold the product at lower markups than branded marketers did.

By the late 1960s, a new crowd of “chain retailers” and “independents” arrived — some who flew
major flags as well as private ones. The independent marketer was, typically, a risk-taker, a true entrepreneur who had put everything the business. As we highlighted in last month’s IGM cover story, Farris Lind of Boise, Idaho, for example, incorporated a picture of a skunk into his brand “Stinker.” That was, he said, as close as he could get to depicting himself as he wanted to.

Men weren’t the only “tough guys” in town. Mary Hudson was one of the legendary
private brand marketers who came on the scene in the 1930s. Hudson’s career began in 1933, as a 21-year-old widow with an infant to support. She borrowed $200 to buy a gas station in Kansas City, which led to a prominent role in a man’s industry. A typical “in-your-face” independent distributor, she was among the first to offer no-frills, self-service gasoline. In the late 1950s, Hudson owned 300 stations in 35 states, plus an Oklahoma oil refinery. She was the only woman in the Twenty Five Year Club of the American Petroleum Institute and Forbes ranked her worth at $325 million, richer than many of her male peers. She is the first woman to have founded an oil company and the first woman to be president of a national oil trade group, the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, from 1965-1967.

Independent gasoline marketers also led the way with selfservice gasoline in the 1970s. My company (when I was a very young boy) is proud to have opened the first Exxon branded self serve gasoline station in Pennsylvania in 1973. The relentless march to improve efficiency in gasoline retailing has continued to this day, when 95 percent of all gasoline retail outlets are independents. Gasoline prices are advertised on huge price signs. Gasoline margins of five percent of sales are substantially lower than other retailers (like Wal-Mart, etc.) with reputations for efficiency. Independent gasoline retailers are, indeed, the most competitive retailers in every town in America.

Since our founding in 1958, SIGMA has continued to be the national trade association representing the most successful, progressive and innovative independent marketers and chain retailers in the United States. Much like our predecessors, today’s independent marketer
values, well, independence. Today’s SIGMA is also committed to the values of integrity, innovation and leadership. These are the values that will sustain strong companies in the competitive markets ahead.

Whether part of the “old” crowd or the “new,” independents traditionally “move the market.” In our constant search for ways to retail gasoline cost effectively, independent gasoline marketers will continue to be pioneers of our industry. It’s exciting to think about the next 50 years of industry innovations, but it’s more exciting to know we’ll be the mavericks who conquer it. 2006 — here we come!

Bill Shipley III
SIGMA President