Kum & Go
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Krause Gentle Corporation | |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | Hampton, Iowa (1959) |
| Headquarters | West Des Moines, Iowa |
| Key people | William Krause and Tony Gentle, founders Kyle Krause, CEO |
| Industry | Retail (convenience stores) |
| Revenue | $1.43 billion (2006)[1] |
| Employees | 3,663 [1] |
| Website | www.kumandgo.com |
Kum & Go is a convenience store chain primarily located in the Midwestern United States.
The chain was founded by William A. Krause and Tony S. Gentle, who founded the Hampton Oil Company in Hampton, Iowa, in 1959. Hampton Oil eventually became the Krause Gentle Corporation, which is Kum & Go's parent company. Krause Gentle moved its corporate headquarters to its current home in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 1988. William Krause's son, Kyle, is the current CEO of Krause Gentle.
Kum & Go went through a period of rapid expansion in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to building new stores, Krause Gentle acquired unwanted stores from chains such as 7-Eleven, QuikTrip, and Git 'n' Go and converted them to Kum & Go stores. By the end of 2005, Kum & Go had 427 locations in 13 states; over half of their stores (229) are in Iowa. In a Des Moines Register interview that was published on February 12, 2006, Kyle Krause mentioned that Kum & Go plans to expand to 950 stores by the end of 2008.[2]
The Kum & Go name, which was adopted during the 1970s, is a play on the phrase "come and go" using the initials of Krause and Gentle.
In addition to Kum & Go, the Krause Gentle Corporation operates Liberty Bank, the Des Moines Menace soccer team, Solar Transport (a refined fuel transporter), and Teamwork Acres (a collection of farms in Clarke, Madison, and Warren counties in Iowa). The Krause family is also involved with the Swing of the Quad Cities baseball team.
In 2006, Kum & Go ranked 267th on Forbes magazine's list of the largest private companies in the United States, ranking second to Hy-Vee among companies based in Iowa.[3]
[edit] References in popular culture
In Jackass Number Two, Johnny Knoxville is seen wearing a Kum & Go T-shirt during one scene. This led to an increase in sales of Kum & Go merchandise, which the company offers on its website.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "#267 Kum & Go", Forbes. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
- ^ Johnson, Patt. "Kum & Go Fuels Up for Fast Growth", Des Moines Register, 2006-02-12.
- ^ "The Largest Private Companies: Iowa", Forbes. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
- ^ ""Jackass" Movie Boosts Sales of Kum & Go Shirts", Des Moines Register, 2006-12-28.
