GetGo
Encyclopedia
GetGo is a convenience store
chain owned and operated by Giant Eagle
. Both are based in Pittsburgh. The chain operates locations in Maryland
, Ohio
, Pennsylvania
, and West Virginia
.
. The chain had a decent presence throughout the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, selling its own branded gasoline at some locations while others were cobranded with Texaco
and later Citgo
. The chain primarily competed with 7-Eleven
, Sheetz
, and several local chains.
Meanwhile, in 2001 local supermarket
chain Giant Eagle opened a few gas stations at Giant Eagle locations branded as "Giant Eagle Fuel". This was in line with most other major supermarket chains in the early 2000's that began opening up gas stations at supermarkets, alongside big-box
chains Wal-Mart
& K-Mart, as well as warehouse club
chains like Costco
and Sam's Club
. Like most such concepts, Giant Eagle Fuel stations only sold gasoline
.
In late 2003, Giant Eagle agreed to buy most of the Cross Roads stations from Guttman Oil, which also happen to supply the Giant Eagle Fuel stations as a jobber
. The combined chains took the GetGo name, although a very small handful of the Cross Roads stations still bear the name. This also had the effect of giving some stations a considerable distance from a main Giant Eagle location.
Shortly afterwards, Giant Eagle bought some gas stations from Shell
in Ohio that were near existing Giant Eagle locations to give the GetGo chain a footprint in major Giant Eagle markets in the Buckeye State such as Columbus
, Cleveland
, Akron
/Canton
, and Youngstown
.
Since these two acquisitions, most GetGo's from this point have been built from the ground-up by Giant Eagle. Guttman Oil continues to supply GetGo today.
To compete with other local convenience store chains, Giant Eagle has instituted the Fuelperks! program, in which customers are rewarded by saving $0.10 per gallon ($0.20 in select markets) they buy on a fill-up with every $50 they spend in Giant Eagle using their Advantage Card. Some GetGo locations also have a WetGo automatic car wash
and a GetGo Kitchen, which is used to help GetGo compete better with its main rival in Pittsburgh and up-and-coming rival in Cleveland: the more established and fast growing chain Sheetz
, which is headquartered in Altoona
. The chain also competes with 7-Eleven
, CoGos, Circle K
, A-Plus
, On the Run
, Speedway
(in Ohio), and more recently, ampm
. There is also one GetGo location in West Virginia and three in Maryland.
In 2007, Giant Eagle released the Giant Eagle Fuelperks! Credit Card in its Columbus Market. The Columbus Market was chosen for the pilot. It has extra incentives such as earning an additional 4 cents off per gallon for every $50 you charge onto your Fuelperks! credit card and earning an additional 4 cents off per gallon for every $100 in GetGo fuel purchases.
In late 2008, Giant Eagle and Citizens Financial Group
(which already had Citizens Bank locations inside Pennsylvania Giant Eagle locations) launched a program in which Citizens Bank debit card
holders earned an additional $.1 off/gallon in Fuelperks! for every $50 spent anywhere when their Citizens Bank debit card was used. In addition, Citizens cardholders earned an extra $.3 off/gallon when used at Giant Eagle in addition to the $.10 off already earned there. The program is only open to new or existing Citizens Bank customers with a checking account and a Giant Eagle Advantage Card, and must have the debit card synced with the Advantage Card at Citizens branches before it can be used for additional Fuelperks!.
In April 2009, GetGo launched the Foodperks! program, which in effect is the exact opposite of the Fuelperks! program in that anyone who uses their Giant Eagle Advantage Card, for every ten gallons purchased at GetGo receives 1% off on groceries at the parent chain. Up to 20% off can be used at one time, and up to $60 ($300 worth of groceries) is redeemable under the Foodperks! program, leaving the remainder for a future order. The program was launched in other markets after the Columbus market was used as a test market
for the program in Fall 2008. Soon after, it was introduced to the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets.
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
chain owned and operated by Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle, Inc., is a supermarket chain with stores in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. The company was founded in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Supermarket News ranked Giant Eagle No. 21 in the 2009 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2008...
. Both are based in Pittsburgh. The chain operates locations in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
History
The genesis of GetGo was the convenience store chain Cross Roads, which was the retail brand of Guttman Oil Company based out of nearby Belle Vernon, PennsylvaniaBelle Vernon, Pennsylvania
Belle Vernon is a borough located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River. The population was 1,211 at the 2000 census. The town is served by the Belle Vernon Area School District, which is actually centered in Rostraver, Westmoreland County.geographical anomaly: The...
. The chain had a decent presence throughout the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, selling its own branded gasoline at some locations while others were cobranded with Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
and later Citgo
Citgo
CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a United States-incorporated, Venezuela-owned refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de...
. The chain primarily competed with 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
, Sheetz
Sheetz
Sheetz, Inc. is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores owned by the Sheetz family. Stores are located in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia....
, and several local chains.
Meanwhile, in 2001 local supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain Giant Eagle opened a few gas stations at Giant Eagle locations branded as "Giant Eagle Fuel". This was in line with most other major supermarket chains in the early 2000's that began opening up gas stations at supermarkets, alongside big-box
Hypermarket
In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...
chains Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
& K-Mart, as well as warehouse club
Warehouse club
A warehouse club is a retail store, usually selling a wide variety of merchandise, in which customers are required to buy large, wholesale quantities of the store's products, which makes these clubs attractive to both bargain hunters and small business owners. The clubs are able to keep prices low...
chains like Costco
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
and Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
. Like most such concepts, Giant Eagle Fuel stations only sold gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
.
In late 2003, Giant Eagle agreed to buy most of the Cross Roads stations from Guttman Oil, which also happen to supply the Giant Eagle Fuel stations as a jobber
Jobber (fuel)
A jobber, or petroleum marketer, is a person or company that purchases quantities of refined fuel from refining companies , either for sale to retailers , or to sell directly to the users of those products...
. The combined chains took the GetGo name, although a very small handful of the Cross Roads stations still bear the name. This also had the effect of giving some stations a considerable distance from a main Giant Eagle location.
Shortly afterwards, Giant Eagle bought some gas stations from Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
in Ohio that were near existing Giant Eagle locations to give the GetGo chain a footprint in major Giant Eagle markets in the Buckeye State such as Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
/Canton
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
.
Since these two acquisitions, most GetGo's from this point have been built from the ground-up by Giant Eagle. Guttman Oil continues to supply GetGo today.
Today
The GetGo concept is different than other "gas station at supermarket" concepts in that Giant Eagle was able to give the chain its own identity and become a full-fledged convenience store/gas station chain. This is unlike most other supermarket chains, which have largely kept the gas stations strictly selling gas and under a generic identity, like Giant Eagle once had with the "Giant Eagle Fuel" concept.To compete with other local convenience store chains, Giant Eagle has instituted the Fuelperks! program, in which customers are rewarded by saving $0.10 per gallon ($0.20 in select markets) they buy on a fill-up with every $50 they spend in Giant Eagle using their Advantage Card. Some GetGo locations also have a WetGo automatic car wash
Car wash
A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles.- Categories :...
and a GetGo Kitchen, which is used to help GetGo compete better with its main rival in Pittsburgh and up-and-coming rival in Cleveland: the more established and fast growing chain Sheetz
Sheetz
Sheetz, Inc. is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores owned by the Sheetz family. Stores are located in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia....
, which is headquartered in Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. The chain also competes with 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
, CoGos, Circle K
Circle K
Circle K is an international chain of convenience stores, founded in 1951, in El Paso, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the Canadian-based Alimentation Couche-Tard.-Overview:...
, A-Plus
A-Plus
APlus is an American convenience store chain owned & operated by Sunoco, Inc.The chain began life as the convenience store chain for Atlantic Petroleum in 1985, which was spun off from ARCO, Inc...
, On the Run
On the Run (convenience store)
thumb|350px|An Esso-branded service station, with On the Run convenience store, in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]. This location, owned by [[Imperial Oil]], includes a [[Tim Hortons]] drive-thru and an [[Royal Bank of Canada|RBC]] bank machine....
, Speedway
Speedway SuperAmerica
Speedway LLC is the operator of a chain of combination gas stations and convenience stores in the Midwest and South of the United States operating under the Speedway brand name. Speedway LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marathon Petroleum Company...
(in Ohio), and more recently, ampm
Ampm
ampm is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, recently in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and in several countries worldwide, including Japan...
. There is also one GetGo location in West Virginia and three in Maryland.
In 2007, Giant Eagle released the Giant Eagle Fuelperks! Credit Card in its Columbus Market. The Columbus Market was chosen for the pilot. It has extra incentives such as earning an additional 4 cents off per gallon for every $50 you charge onto your Fuelperks! credit card and earning an additional 4 cents off per gallon for every $100 in GetGo fuel purchases.
In late 2008, Giant Eagle and Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, which operates in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Citizens is a wholly owned...
(which already had Citizens Bank locations inside Pennsylvania Giant Eagle locations) launched a program in which Citizens Bank debit card
Debit card
A debit card is a plastic card that provides the cardholder electronic access to his or her bank account/s at a financial institution...
holders earned an additional $.1 off/gallon in Fuelperks! for every $50 spent anywhere when their Citizens Bank debit card was used. In addition, Citizens cardholders earned an extra $.3 off/gallon when used at Giant Eagle in addition to the $.10 off already earned there. The program is only open to new or existing Citizens Bank customers with a checking account and a Giant Eagle Advantage Card, and must have the debit card synced with the Advantage Card at Citizens branches before it can be used for additional Fuelperks!.
In April 2009, GetGo launched the Foodperks! program, which in effect is the exact opposite of the Fuelperks! program in that anyone who uses their Giant Eagle Advantage Card, for every ten gallons purchased at GetGo receives 1% off on groceries at the parent chain. Up to 20% off can be used at one time, and up to $60 ($300 worth of groceries) is redeemable under the Foodperks! program, leaving the remainder for a future order. The program was launched in other markets after the Columbus market was used as a test market
Test market
A test market, in the field of business and marketing, is a geographic region or demographic group used to gauge the viability of a product or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale roll-out...
for the program in Fall 2008. Soon after, it was introduced to the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets.