BRADENTON, Fla.-- Leach Associates Inc. closed its last four Fast Fetch gasoline station/convenience stores on Tuesday, said the Bradenton Herald. The units were located in Bradenton, Palmetto, Ellenton and Terra Ceia, Fla. Two other locations closed on Monday.
The remaining fuel would be pumped out of the underground storage tanks and sold, Al Leach, president of Leach Associates, told the newspaper, adding that he is arranging for vendors to take back as much of the c-store merchandise as possible. He will give the perishable merchandise to charity. He could not maintain the stores’ profitability at current price levels, he said, and raising per-gallon prices wasn’t possible against the competition. “Unless senators and representatives take other action, the retail price on the street is going to be controlled by multinational petroleum refiners,” Leach said.
“Independent marketers like ourselves are being squeezed out by major refineries,” said Leach. “What’s going to happen is that most of the stations in Florida are liable to end up being owned by major oil companies that are refineries also.”
Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association President Jim Smith contends that Florida is heading toward domination by the large players. And a Florida law prohibiting below-cost selling has been enforced only by lawsuits, not the state. “It is going on throughout the state and it is a continuing trend,” said Smith.
“These are very, very tough cases to prove because of all the record-keeping and because of all the exemptions,” Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services spokesperson Terence McElroy told the Herald. “It’s not that we’re not enforcing this.”
