Needs Convenience

Needs Convenience is a chain of convenience stores throughout eastern Canada.

The Needs logo and trademark are owned by Sobeys Inc.. Individual stores are operated by independent franchisees. Sobeys is the exclusive supplier to the chain.

Many stores operate from 6AM-midnight, however there are some 24 hour locations in larger urban centres. In recent years, the Needs chain has begun installing gasoline stations at a limited number of locations using either the Ultramar Limited or Sobeys Fast Fuels brands.

History

The Needs Convenience chain developed out of a series of small acquisitions by Sobeys, beginning with the TRA wholesale business in Middleton, Nova Scotia. By the mid-1990s, Needs stores were being branded throughout the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Sobeys-owned Green Gables chain was changed over to Needs by the late 1990s as part of a final effort to consolidate the region's up-scale convenience store market.

During the early 2000s, Sobeys experimented with converting several Needs stores to the Sobeys Express brand on a limited trial basis. The trial was unsuccessful and the stores reverted back to the Needs brand, however several stores are now being branded as Needs Convenience Extra or Needs Convenience Plus.

See also

• Foodland and Price Chopper for other Sobeys-owned small grocery stores.
• Riteway, Kwik-Way, and Clover Farm for other Sobeys-owned convenience store brands operated by franchisees.

References