A winking owl greets drivers pulling in for petrol, snacks and drinks across Quebec — the logo of Alimentation Couche-Tard, which from a single outlet in 1980 has become a $53bn company with 16,700 owned or licensed convenience stores worldwide.
Couche-Tard, French for night owl, is now in pursuit of the world’s largest convenience store chain after swooping in with a rejected preliminary offer of $39bn for 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings of Japan.
The driving force behind Couche-Tard’s strategy is Alain Bouchard, the man who opened the first store, according to industry executives, bankers and analysts.
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