Guy Gendron > Quotes

“You have to be careful, Bouchard answered: There are often hidden costs in a chain that’s struggling financially. Better to pass up an opportunity than rush into one too quickly.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“president. “He refused. He said his room was good enough. He also pointed out that Richard and I would be the ones negotiating the next day, and he wanted us to be well-rested for our mission. He also told me, ‘I would never pay that much for a room. It’s the shareholders who would have to foot the bill.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“He savoured the direct contact with customers, and above all, discovered a natural talent for interior design. He thought the store should be attractive, clean, and should display the products effectively. He took advantage of the evenings, when there were fewer customers, to reorganize the shelves.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“They had become experts in their unique choreography: Jacques D’Amours handled leases and distribution, Richard Fortin examined the financial records and debts, Réal Plourde analyzed human resources and the operational structure, and Alain Bouchard looked at real estate and the global business plan. Each team member was important, each had his own strengths. It was a given that no decision of that scale could be taken unless they all agreed.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“The solutions seemed utterly self-evident, and they applied them again and again: a clear, well laid-out interior, proper lighting, nice colour and general cleanliness, no lineups, well-trained and welcoming employees and the elimination of useless jobs in the administrative offices.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“started with the number of vehicles driving to the site each day. Then he examined the number of residents who lived around the location, in expanding concentric circles to which he assigned a decreasing value according to distance. He also assessed the demographic makeup of the population, the average age, the number of children and the ethnic makup, knowing from experience that some groups are less likely to shop at convenience stores.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“As soon as a suitable location was found for a franchise, he was given two weeks to design the store, paint it, install coolers, shelves and counters and arrange merchandise. Nothing could get in the way of him attending opening day for each store, which always took place on a weekend. “I loved that moment. You could feel the excitement of everyone waiting outside before the doors opened.” The energy was that much higher when Perrette promised a complimentary milk jug to the first 500 clients and granted specials on other products, to promote the full range of their offerings.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“Without customers, a balance sheet is meaningless. That’s why Bouchard agreed to pay a premium when he was acquiring an existing store. He wasn’t buying just an inventory and some displays; he was buying a location and a customer base that had established habits—a concept referred to as “goodwill.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“We don’t make a cent in these offices. The money is made in the stores.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“More than once, Couche-Tard had doubled and even quadrupled in size, overnight. Its acquisitions both in Canada and in the United States had allowed it to develop a unique mode of operation that was simultaneously decentralized and integrated. The business had also thrived because its management team consisted of four men who had built it with their own hands—quite literally—and they had personally experienced what it’s like to run a small store, with the successes and failures that this entailed. Each setback had brought their group closer together. Each challenge had made them stronger, more efficient, more impressive.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“In real life, people want to earn their wages, to feel good about themselves, to be able to say they did a good job, to contribute in their own way.” To get there, Bouchard says, each individual has to find the zone in which they can make decisions, room to manoeuvre that fits their abilities and gives them a chance to show what they can do. “That’s a basic need for all humans. We all want that: to reach the level of importance corresponding to our potential.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“it has no headquarters. The concept is verboten at Couche-Tard, because it suggests hierarchical superiority, a vertical line of decision-making authority that the founders reject. At Couche-Tard, says Alain Bouchard, “we are egoless.” The company’s administrative offices are “service centres,” a term meant to reflect the organizational philosophy of the group. The staff working there is at the service of the stores, and not vice versa.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire

“Bouchard, however, advocates an entrepreneurial attitude at every level. He encourages risk-taking. This requires a high tolerance for error, but he prefers taking an overall position of trust—even when it sometimes backfires—to an overall position of mistrust that will sometimes prove justified.”
― Guy Gendron, Daring to succed: Couche-tard & Circle K convenience store empire