Mr. McNeill served for three years with the White House Communications Agency (1972-1975) in direct Presidential support and world travel for Presidents Nixon and Ford. Mr. McNeill graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah in 1977, with a Major in Political Science and a Minor in Business. He continues to be involved in Public Service as an elected and appointed official.
The varied background and experience of Mr. McNeill has led him to be a consultant and provide research in areas of business applications. Discussions with brokers and owners in the Food Service Industry, quickly pointed out the dearth of applicable data with the associated reliability of information within the Convenience Store and Brokerage Industries. McNeill Research is dedicated to the analysis and formulation of accurate C-Store information, trends, extrapolation and commentary. In the pursuit for understandable and available information and data, McNeill Research has initially relied on the National Association of Convenience Stores, State of the Industry 1997 and Industry Report 1998. NACS does a fine job of presenting the industry data in readable format. McNeill Research believes that further clarification, detail, and format of the NACS information would be more helpful to many C-Store owner/operators. McNeill Research performed an initial review of the data for 1999 NACS/State of the Industry Report which relies on voluntary submission of survey data. The 1998 summary showed that only 1/4 of the Convenience Stores nationally responded to the survey questionnaire, with 55% of those respondents from the South as a region. Furthermore, that 1/4 group of C-Stores responding to survey was 73% comprised of stores from companies of 500+stores in size. Company size (201- 500+ Stores) were 20,550 in number of 87% of the total responding to survey.
The valuable information gleaned from NACS/CSNEWS Industry 1998 is important and deemed reliable, but does represent the larger chains of company stores disproportionately. The absence of category analysis and breakdown within regions, limits the value to the smaller owner and chain operator. McNeill Research will continue with periodic updates and clarification of data, category management, trends, and commentaries with emphasis on the applicability of regional data. Conclusions must be based on accurate and complete data, balanced from competing sources. Efforts are underway to get more accurate and detailed reporting of reliable information within the region. All information submitted will be treated confidentially, with proprietary information remaining proprietary. Stay tuned for future updates and analysis with the enhancement of margins and profitability in the C-Store Industry.