LAVAL, Quebec -- Call it negotiating without ever speaking. What looked like a nail in the coffin may actually have given Alimentation Couche-Tard the monetary insight it needed to advance its effort to purchase the Casey's General Stores chain.

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- PepsiCo is changing its method of distribution for its Gatorade products in the c-store, UDS and dollar store channels of trade from a warehouse-delivered go-to-market system to direct-store delivery (DSD) through both company-owned and independent bottlers in the United States and Canada.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Described as "the industry's most comprehensive resource for insight into independent c-store operators," Retail Market Intelligence (the data insights division of Consolidated Buying Co.) and CSP Information Group have announced the release of a 60,000-plus database available to industry suppliers looking to market to the 1- to 10-store independent channel.