Business description of ARKO-Corp from last 10-k form

Risks and uncertainties, the occurrence of which could adversely affect our business, include the following:

changes in economic conditions and consumer confidence in the U.S.;
if we do not make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms, our future growth may be limited;
we may be unable to successfully integrate the acquired operations or otherwise realize the expected benefits from our acquisitions;
our future growth depends on our ability to successfully implement our organic growth strategies;
labor, raw materials and building supply shortages and price fluctuations in the construction industry could delay or increase the costs of our store upgrade and remodel program and our maintenance capital expenditures;
significant changes in the current consumption of and regulations related to tobacco and nicotine products;
changes in the wholesale prices of motor fuel;
significant changes in demand for fuel-based modes of transportation;
we operate in a highly competitive industry characterized by low entry barriers;
negative events or developments associated with branded motor fuel suppliers;
we depend on several principal suppliers for our gross fuel purchases and two principal suppliers for merchandise;
a portion of our revenue is generated under fuel supply agreements with independent dealers that must be renegotiated or replaced periodically;
the retail sale, distribution and storage of motor fuels is subject to environmental protection and operational safety laws and regulations that may expose us or our customers to significant costs and liabilities;
business disruption and related risks resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 and variants of the virus, including associated regulatory changes;
failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations;
the loss of key senior management personnel or the failure to recruit or retain qualified personnel;
unfavorable weather conditions;
we may be held liable for fraudulent credit card transactions on our fuel dispensers;
payment-related risks that may result in higher operating costs or the inability to process payments;
significant disruptions of information technology systems or breaches of data security;
laws, regulations, standards, and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security regulations, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations;
if we fail to adequately secure, maintain, and enforce our intellectual property rights;
if third parties claim that we infringe upon their intellectual property rights;
we depend on third-party transportation providers for the transportation of our motor fuel;
our operations present risks which may not be fully covered by insurance;
our variable rate debt;
the agreements governing our indebtedness have various restrictions and financial covenants;
the proposed phase out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”);
we incur significant expenses and administrative burdens as a public company;
our principal stockholders and management control us and their interests may conflict with yours in the future;
our corporate structure includes Israeli subsidiaries that may have adverse tax consequences and expose us to additional tax liabilities;
we may not be able to effectively maintain controls and procedures required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
the market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile and could decline significantly;
if securities or industry analysts do not publish research, publish inaccurate or unfavorable research or cease publishing research about us or the convenience store industry; and
sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market.
 

Table of Contents

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the “Company,” “ARKO,” “we,” “our,” “ours,” and “us” refer to ARKO Corp., a Delaware corporation, including our consolidated subsidiaries.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Background

ARKO Corp. was incorporated under the laws of Delaware on August 26, 2020 for the purpose of facilitating the business combination of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II, a Delaware corporation, and ARKO Holdings Ltd., a company organized under the laws of the State of Israel, which we refer to as Arko Holdings. Our shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“common stock”), and publicly-traded warrants were registered to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market on December 22, 2020 and commenced trading on December 23, 2020. Arko Holdings was organized under the laws of Israel on May 4, 1970 and the main activity of Arko Holdings prior to the foregoing business combination was its holding, through its subsidiaries, of controlling rights in GPM Investments, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company formed on June 12, 2002, which we refer to as GPM.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the “Company,” “ARKO,” “we,” “our,” “ours,” and “us” refer to ARKO Corp. including its consolidated subsidiaries. We maintain a website at www.arkocorp.com. Information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of and is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

We own, indirectly, 100% of GPM, which is our operating entity. Based in Richmond, VA, we are a leading independent convenience store operator and, as of December 31, 2021, we were the sixth largest convenience store chain operator in the United States ranked by store count, operating 1,406 retail convenience stores. As of December 31, 2021, we operated the stores under 19 regional store brands including 1-Stop, Admiral, Apple Market®, BreadBox, ExpressStop®, E-Z Mart®, fas mart®, fastmarket®, Handy Mart, Jiffi Stop®, Li’l Cricket, Next Door Store®, Roadrunner Markets, Rstore, Scotchman®, shore stop®, Town Star, Village Pantry® and Young’s. As of December 31, 2021, we also supplied fuel to 1,628 independent dealer locations. We are well diversified geographically and as of December 31, 2021, operated across 33 states and the District of Columbia in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, Northeastern, Southeastern and Southwestern United States (“U.S.”). We believe we benefit greatly by using established store banners. Our community of brands have been in existence for an average of approximately 50 years. We leverage their long-term community involvement, highly recognizable brands and customer loyalty in their respective markets. Our stores derive significant value from the scale, corporate infrastructure and centralized marketing programs associated with our large network.

We derive our revenue from the retail sale of fuel, the wholesale distribution of fuel and from the retail sale of a wide array of products offered in our retail stores, together with foodservice offerings.

The Business

We primarily operate in two business segments: retail and wholesale. Additionally, our third segment, GPMP, engages in the wholesale distribution of fuel. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the retail segment generated total revenues of approximately $4.7 billion, including approximately $1.7 billion of in-store sales and other revenues. In addition, the retail segment sold a total of 1,038.6 million gallons of branded and unbranded fuel to its retail customers. As a wholesale distributor of motor fuel, we distribute branded and unbranded motor fuel from refiners through third-party transportation providers. As of December 31, 2021, we distributed fuel to 1,628 independent dealer locations and spot and bulk purchasers throughout our footprint. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the wholesale segment sold 978.0 million gallons of fuel, generating revenues of approximately $2.7 billion. Our subsidiary, GPM Petroleum LP, which we refer to as GPMP, distributes motor fuels on a fixed fee per gallon basis to both our retail and wholesale sites. For the year ended December 31, 2021, 99.9% of the total fuel gallons distributed by GPMP were to GPM sites. GPM purchases all of its fuel from GPMP and we own 100% of the general partner of GPMP and, as of December 31, 2021, 99.8% of the GPMP limited partner units.

Retail Business

Our retail convenience stores offer a wide array of cold and hot foodservice, beverages, cigarettes and other tobacco products, candy, salty snacks, grocery, beer and general merchandise. Almost all stores sell fuel. We operate our stores under 19 regional store brands, including 1-Stop, Admiral, Apple Market®, BreadBox, ExpressStop®, E-Z Mart®, fas mart®, fastmarket®, Handy Mart, Jiffi

In October 2017, we entered into an agreement to develop 10 Dunkin’ restaurants in the tri-cities area (Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky). To date, we have opened four sites and plan to open two additional sites in 2022. The current development deadline under the agreement is October 2023.

We offer foodservice at over 400 company-operated stores. The foodservice category varies by store and includes hot and fresh foods, deli, fried chicken, bakery, pizza, roller grill items and other prepared foods. In many stores, we offer value priced food items such as hot dogs and chicken sandwiches. In addition, we operate over 90 branded quick service restaurants consisting of major national brands, including Dairy Queen, Dunkin’, Sbarro, Subway and Taco Bell. We provide a number of traditional convenience store services that generate additional income, including lottery, prepaid products, gift cards, money orders, ATMs, gaming, and other ancillary product and service offerings. We also generate revenue from car washes at approximately 90 of our locations.