star – on course for innovation and growth throughout Germany
Elmshorn, 26 May 2016 - When the petrol station industry gathers at UNITI expo in Stuttgart, the star petrol stations present innovations from the areas of technology and own brands in particular. For services for the petrol station partners, the appealing brand is also demonstrating that it is breaking new ground to make the cooperation even better and more efficient for both sides. Further developments regarding, for example, the car wash, security and the star fleet card are the basis for star's constantly growing success. Thanks to the growth curve, star will become one of the largest petrol station brands in Berlin this year.
star's own brands specially for regional customer wishes
There's been a new variety of Bockwurst, mainly sold in eastern Germany, fresh in the own-brand range since January. star has developed an even crunchier and spicier Bockwurst. In this way, the petrol station brand is responding to the regional customer requirements in a targeted manner. The new star Bockwurst complements the popular star bread rolls and the Bockwurst for the northern and western region from the own-brand range.
At the stand, visitors at UNITI expo can try all star's own-brand products from the food section, such as the star energy drink and the star water, whose sales figures have exceeded all expectations from the very beginning. The own-brand module specially developed for star, which presents the food products and the star gift cards in an even more eye-catching manner, is also new at the trade fair. In addition, it boasts its own cooling system for the drinks. The module is clearly distinguished from the usual shop furnishings in its appearance, so that customers notice the products to an even greater extent.
The new recipe handbooks and innovative training offers provide further assistance for the partners on site. They therefore make a significant contribution to quality assurance regarding the ingredients, taste and appearance of the bistro products and hot meals. They contain detailed preparation instructions to also make the individual work steps easier for new employees, to standardise processes and to save time. The bistro shop is being simplified for the petrol station partners and, at the same time, even more attractive for the customers. The recipe handbooks will be made available to all filling station leaseholders in digital and printed form, free of charge. The book can be brought up to date time and again by replacing individual pages.
State-of-the-art training
To train the petrol station employees for star's extensive range in the best possible way, star is dedicated to innovative training methods. Expert trainers travel in the star Academy training vehicle throughout the entire distribution area. At the petrol stations themselves, the staff are provided with optimum training about star's facilities and range of services. The possibility of immediately putting into practice what has been learnt deepens the knowledge acquired in a particularly effective manner.
In addition to attendance-based training, the mobile programme is supplemented by e-learning that can be carried out online. Short video course units simplify and accelerate the induction phase, particularly for new petrol station employees.
Investments in technology and alternative mobility solutions
The partners are also kept up to date with regard to the technical equipment. The focus here is on the important source of income, the car wash. The car wash is now an integral part of star's petrol stations and for many partners has become a central component, in addition to fuel and the shop. For gantry car washes, star is investing strongly in the expansion of sensory marketing. For this purpose, bright LED floodlights set the scene effectively for the indoor and outdoor areas of the facilities. In addition, scattered colourful lights attract attention, so that interest is awakened for star's car wash service, including in customers waiting at the pump. star also creates a fragrance experience, which is automatically associated with the perception of cleanliness. In addition to the control of the water treatment, fragranced foams that vary with the seasons create a pleasant olfactory impression. star is also currently testing the use of additional fragrance dispensers in the car wash bays. The investments are worthwhile: In the locations where lighting effects and scent dispensers are used, sales growth up to thirty per cent higher was achieved.
In addition to the classic car-wash users, there are still many customers who prefer to wash their vehicles by hand. Modern self-service washing bays are enjoying ever greater popularity with star's customers. New facilities are being planned on an individual basis constantly, and equipped with alarm and security systems as well as energy-efficient LED lamps. The clear growth rates in this area show that star is meeting the expectations of its customers with its investments here.
star is also promoting environmentally friendly mobility solutions and is initiating pilot projects, such as carsharing ("Share a starcar") and at charging points ("Tesla Supercharger") with the US electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors, famous for its innovations.
Digital partner communication
To make star's communication with both customers and petrol station partners simpler and more efficient, new digital communication solutions have been developed. For petrol station partners, the communication system "(starlet)" has been introduced, which consists of a tablet, an app and an editorial programme, enabling mutual exchange in real time.
The relaunched website star.de is interesting for customers. Here, they can learn important facts about star and are always kept up to date about all the innovations.
Improved performance with the star fleet card
Business partners also benefit from the new leet card portal with its online services. Here, all the important features of online accounting are available to customers of the star fleet card: fleet card customers can view their transactions at any time and evaluate them, process data and check their cards. Moreover, users are not only able to search for stations nearby using the petrol station finder, but also set up a price alert and be notified by email of low prices. Through e-invoicing, customers are provided with an overview at all times, since the invoice is sent by email just a few hours after it has been created.
With the fleet card, customers can obtain fuels and lubricants including autogas, natural gas and AdBlue by cashless payment. The six performance classes on offer also make it possible to purchase goods and pay for services relating to vehicles, such as car washes, accessories or shop products. A major advantage compared to other systems on the market is an EAN code as an additional option to a magnetic strip – this guarantees payment at all times and ensures error-free IT processing.
Security to cover every aspect
In 2015 alone, the star petrol stations invested over 1.5 million euros in new security technology. Through continuous optimisation, the stations and shops are designed or converted based on the latest findings and security standards and equipped with up-to-date technology. star's security concept consists of various technical and organisational measures that ensure complete monitoring, visible for everyone, thereby acting as a deterrent.
In addition, security shutters or grilles are used where required. The star petrol stations are also equipped with the latest video systems, intrusion detection systems and fog machines. In 2015 alone, almost 150 further stations were upgraded with the latest security technology such as video, fog and intrusion detection systems. Further investments were made in locking systems, security films, roller shutters, motion detectors and additional lighting to make the stations even more secure for both petrol station partners and customers.
The number of critical incidents at the stations testify to the success of star's security concept. Compared to 2013, the total number of incidents has remained constant – although, at the same time, the number of star petrol stations has risen sharply. In particular, at petrol stations equipped with fog machines, a decline in the number of successful burglaries was observed. In addition, more attempted burglaries were able to be prevented and resolved.
star is a brand characterised by growth
With the purchase of 13 SUN petrol stations in October 2015, the network of stations in Berlin grew from 18 to almost 30 locations. ORLEN Deutschland now runs more than 570 stations throughout Germany. From the second quarter of 2016, the star fleet card will also be accepted at more than 70 automatic BayWa pumps in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. This expands the network of the acceptance points in southern Germany significantly.
In 2016, star is also driving forward the expansion of its petrol station network. The focus here is on the regions where there are not yet any star petrol stations. In addition to the strengthened cooperation with the owners of the petrol stations, star is also dedicated to integrating the partners' interests in the best possible way. For the partners, this means teamwork with a strong brand and a fair partnership, attractive and innovative customer offers and the freedom to run their petrol stations successfully.
"star will continue to pursue the successful strategy of the past few years", emphasises Wieslaw Milkiewicz, Managing Director (CTO) and Press Officer of the star petrol stations. "This includes increased support for the partnership with our leaseholders. When a new petrol station agreement was introduced, among others, the new "Code of conduct for the petrol station business" was taken into consideration, and suggestions for a leaseholders' survey were also included. With this revised contract, the cooperation will be oriented towards a shared future even more strongly. It creates the best conditions for growth for all the parties involved", he explains further.
Questions on this and many other topics will be answered by star employees at UNITI expo from 14 to 16 June in Stuttgart (Hall 1, stand 1F20).
star – a strong brand of ORLEN Deutschland GmbH
star is the petrol station brand of ORLEN Deutschland GmbH, which has been running more than 570 filling stations in the northern half of Germany since 2003. The company, based in Elmshorn near Hamburg, is part of the Polish mineral oil and petrochemical group PKN ORLEN SA, which is the largest Central Eastern European group, with an annual turnover of 21 billion euros in 2015.
PKN ORLEN SA is listed on the stock exchanges in Warsaw and London and represented in the petrol station market in Eastern and Central Europe with a total of 2,700 petrol stations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Lithuania. In recent years, large investments were made in Lithuania and the Czech Republic to move one step closer to achieving the goal of becoming the leading mineral oil company in Central Europe.
Contact:
ORLEN Deutschland GmbH
Wieslaw Milkiewicz / Managing Director and Press Officer
Andreas Khan / Head of Marketing & PR