Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for August 30, 2006 GAS WAR

For whatever reason, this story was "messed up"...the lead paragraph was chopped off. I've taken the caption from a picture and used it as the lead. The story still comes through "loud and clear".

Another clear sign of Cairo's "woes" is the sentence that says that these folks own a store in Cairo, IL...but that they haven't lowered the prices at THAT store. Of course, that's usually the case in a "war zone"...prices are higher than in the "real world".

A word to the wise...don't believe the statement that the gas "war" could go on for a year! If you want "cheap" gas...better get it NOW!

From the Paducah Sun...

Ballard stations vie for gas customers

By Bill Bartleman

Rush to the pumps: Drivers line up to take advantage of low gasoline prices at the Barlow Cut Mart, above, and the Indian Hills Trading Post in Wickliffe on Tuesday. Both stations were offering gas around 30 cents a gallon less than many other retailers.

"We didn't try to start something with any competitors," Khdair said. "We did it because our customers have been paying so much for gas that we thought it would be nice to give them a break."

Even so, competitor Ron Laster at the Indian Hills Trading Post seven miles away in Wickliffe views it as a war. Laster said his store will keep pace with prices in Barlow that stood late Tuesday at $2.379 a gallon for regular. That beats prices at other independent stations by about 30 cents.

Both stores reported record sales and happy customers.

"We normally average two deliveries of gasoline a week," Laster said. "We've already had three deliveries since Saturday."

Khdair said his sales have tripled. "We ran out for a couple of hours (Tuesday morning), and some customers waited for the truck to come in. They appreciate what we are trying to do.?

Both operators say the retail price is less than what they pay for the gas, although they wouldn't reveal the wholesale price. They hope to make up for the loss through increased sales of other goods sold inside their convenience stores.

"We're selling more than normal inside, so we aren't facing a total loss," Laster said.

Khdair said his family also owns a store in Cairo, Ill., but prices there haven't been lowered.

His family plans to open stores in Lovelaceville and Wickliffe within two months, and, "We are going to do the same thing with prices in those stores that we're doing here," Khdair said.

Neither owner would predict how long prices would stay down. "We could go on like this for a year," Khdair said.

Prices at Indian Hills will keep pace with the Barlow Cut Mart, Laster said. "We'll stay low until he starts putting it back up."

The price reductions began Friday when Khdair lowered his prices by 4 cents a gallon. "We matched what he did, and he followed by cutting it another penny," Laster said. "It kept going down from there."

Laster said his gas usually is one cent per gallon higher than at Barlow. "We give them a penny because they have just two pumps and we have six," Laster said. "Customers can get in and out of here quick so they are willing to pay a little bit extra."

Laster's family owns another station in Wickliffe and one in Kevil. Those stations have not cut prices.

The price war has affected prices in Sikeston, Mo., across the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, Laster said. "I was told the gas over there has gone down to the same as it is here," he said.