Games (and C-Stores) Open

C-Stores and the Olympics have a lot in common

Olympic fervor is in the air: Paris 2024 started just about a week ago. “Games Wide Open” is its official slogan, meant to echo the expanding variety of sports that have become part of the Games. The broad schedule of competitions explains the event’s popularity: everyone can find at least one or two sports into which to invest their attention. Not to mention that the host city, Paris, where it all plays out, is pretty interesting in its own right.

Antalya, Turkey – August 18, 2023: Paris 2024 Olympic Games flag in front of blurred Paris skyline

Now, you might not have noticed, but the c-store industry shares some common characteristics with the Olympics. It starts with a fond affection for mascots. Like they do for c-stores, mascots represent and differentiate different Olympics through the years. Here’s the mascot for Paris 2024:

It certainly looks friendly, but we admit, is a little hard to identify. The name, Olympic Phrygian, doesn’t offer much help, but do a little digging and you’ll find that . . . it’s a hat! Not any hat, though, the Phrygian cap, an emblematic accessory of French revolutionaries that has changed over time mean freedom and other French ideals. “It’s the symbol of liberty,” stated the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee before the Games[1]. The red color calls out Olympic fire. (A complete list of Olympic mascots is available here.)

There are other comparisons you can draw between the Olympics and the c-store industry. For example, the Olympics, by their very nature, are a one stop for sporting competition, a convenience of its own kind.

And just as c-stores often serve as a hub for a local community to gather and connect, the Olympics bring people together from around the world to celebrate sports, competition, and unity. This also pertains to the athletes’ Olympic Village, virtually a town in itself which has its own c-store and market, very popular with the athletes.

There are other less concrete comparisons you can make between c-stores and the Olympics, too. Like the Olympics, c-stores are recognized and valued throughout the world, and this global focus of the industry often reaches iconic proportions, depending upon where you are (for example, Japan and South Korea).

Also like the Olympics, the heart of the industry revolves around competition and success. And just as the most decorated athletes have a team behind them to assist in monitoring performance and seeking out an edge, the same can be said of successful c-store operators. In the industry’s case, technology plays a key role, but to make it work best for your store, you need an engaged, knowledgeable team that stands behind it—just like the one at SSCS!

Sure, our software is powerful and feature rich, but our pre-sales preparation, time-tested onsite installation process, and ongoing follow up and support are what really make us a standout asset for a competing store. If you’d like to know more about our team, and the ways it can keep you going for the gold day after day, please give us a call at (800) 972-7277.

[1] Leicester, Raphael; July 30, 2024; “What is that? Olympic Phryge confounds some, but is very French;” apnews.com