Spartan Stores and Speedway Expand Fuel Rewards Partnership

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Stores and Speedway LLC (Speedway) announced today they are expanding their highly successful Fuel Rewards program statewide to provide fuel discounts to Michigan consumers who are eager to leverage their food and fuel budgets. Additional supermarkets will be able to offer Fuel Rewards to their consumers because of the expanded Speedway partnership effective January 8, 2012. With this expansion, Fuel Rewards are offered statewide at over 90 D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare, Glen's Markets and VG's locations, owned by Spartan Stores, through the yes Rewards program. Participating supermarkets with a Quick Stop Fuel Center in close proximity will issue Fuel Rewards for the Quick Stop center. Those without a Quick Stop Fuel Center in close proximity will issue a Speedway Fuel Reward. The Speedway partnership also allows Spartan Stores to extend a Fuel Rewards program to over 375 Spartan supplied independent grocers.

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To participate in the Fuel Rewards program consumers will use their yes Rewards card to earn a Fuel Reward based on their grocery purchases. An example: A consumer purchases $50 in groceries and will receive a $0.05 per gallon discount on fuel. Fuel Rewards can be redeemed at Spartan owned D&W, Family Fare, Glen's or VG's Quick Stops or Speedway locations in Michigan, as well as Speedway locations in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The initial Spartan Stores-Speedway fuel partnership was launched in May 2011 and piloted through Spartan Stores' VG's stores and the 290 Speedway convenience stores throughout Michigan.

Alan Hartline, Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing for Spartan Stores notes, "Spartan Stores consumers are delighted with our Fuel Rewards partnership with Speedway. Since we launched the pilot program, consumers have saved nearly $250,000 on over 1.7 million gallons of fuel sold at Speedway locations across the state. We found in the VG's pilot that our consumers are very mobile and we are averaging redemptions at over 275 different Speedway locations each month across the state. Value is top of mind for the consumer, and we want to help them make their dollars go further at our supermarkets and fuel centers. Our stores are playing a key role in helping consumers manage their tight budgets by offering the many benefits of the yes Rewards program – free groceries, email savings, fuel savings and free prescription program that offers select free antibiotics, free prenatal vitamins, and free diabetes medications in addition to $4/30 day and $10/90 day supplies of nearly 300 generic medications to all members of the yes Rewards program."

Grant Heminger, Vice President of Marketing for Speedway LLC, commented: "The Speedway -Spartan Stores partnership is a prime example of how two like-minded organizations committed to offering quality, convenience and value have combined forces to better serve our consumers. We are excited to expand the program and allow Spartan Stores' consumers to redeem their Fuel Reward vouchers in more than 1,200 convenience stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. This provides consumers even greater flexibility and mobility with their rewards while in their neighborhood or traveling for business or pleasure."

In addition to value and service, Speedway offers consumers the quality they expect. For the third year in a row, Speedway is the Highest Ranked Gasoline Brand in the nation according to the prestigious Harris Poll EquiTrend® survey of more than 25,000 consumers. This ranking resulted in Speedway being named the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Retail Gasoline Brand of the Year.

How the partnership works

• With this expansion, Fuel Rewards are offered throughout the state at over 90 D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare, Glen's Markets and VG's locations through the yes Rewards program.
• yes Rewards applications are readily available at D&W, Family Fare, Glen's or VG's stores or by visiting myyesrewards.com. Consumers can create their online account and pick up a yes Rewards card in store.
• To participate in the Fuel Rewards program consumers will use their yes Rewards card to earn a Fuel Rewards based on their grocery purchases. An example: A consumer purchases $50 in groceries and will receive a $0.05 per gallon discount on fuel, with a limit of 20 gallons.
• Fuel Rewards can be redeemed at Spartan owned D&W, Family Fare, Glen's or VG's Quick Stops or Speedway locations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
• Consumers will receive a Fuel Reward printed at the checkout with instructions on how to redeem at the Spartan owned D&W, Family Fare, Glen's or VG's Quick Stops or Speedway convenience stores. 
• Participating D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare, Glen's Markets and VG's with a Quick Stop Fuel Center in close proximity will issue Fuel Rewards for the Quick Stop center. Those without a Fuel Center in close proximity will issue a Speedway Fuel Reward.
• See stores for details on redeeming Fuel Rewards.

About Spartan Stores

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Spartan Stores, Inc., (Nasdaq: SPTN) is the nation's eleventh largest grocery distributor with 1.4 million square feet of warehouse, distribution, and office space located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Company distributes more than 40,000 corporate and national brand products to approximately 375 independent grocer locations in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, and to our 97 corporate owned stores located in Michigan, including D&W Fresh Markets, Family Fare Supermarkets, Glen's Markets and VG's Food and Pharmacy.

About Speedway LLC

Speedway LLC, headquartered in Enon, Ohio, is the fourth largest company-owned and operated gasoline and convenience store chain with approximately 1,375 stores located in seven states in the Midwest. Speedway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC). For further information about Speedway, visit the Company's web site at http://www.speedway.com.

SOURCE Spartan Stores