Unmanned Fuel Retailing Sites in Europe

Publication Date	July 2006
Publisher	Datamonitor
Product Type	Report
Pages	25
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	DAT00451

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Summary

Introduction

Unmanned sites account for over 40% of the fuel retailing networks of Scandinavian markets. This site concept is now being replicated by retailers in Central and Eastern Europe. This brief details the size of the unmanned network in over 20 European markets, outlines the factors influencing the development of unmanned sites, and identifies the markets where the sector is experiencing growth.

Scope

A comprehensive overview of the leading unmanned markets and the rate at which they have developed
An understanding of the operators exploiting the opportunities for unmanned site development in Central and Eastern Europe
A quantitative comparison of the major unmanned operators in Europe in terms of network size and plans for expansion

Highlights

Estonia, Lithuania and Poland have the highest penetration of unmanned sites into their networks in CEE, a phenomenon which has been led by the entry of experienced unmanned players from the Scandinavian markets, such as Neste.

Switzerland has the highest penetration of unmanned sites of all the European markets, however, with new builds tending to include shops the penetration of unattended stations in the networks of most providers is set to decline.

In the Scandinavian markets with a high penetration of unmanned sites, plastic card usage for everyday purchases such as petrol is prevalent, and average card transaction values are in the region of 6 Euros. This compares to figures as high as 200 Euros elsewhere in Europe.

Reasons to Purchase

Assess the suitability of unmanned stations for your network and identify the factors that will make it a success.
Evaluate Europe's key unmanned fuel retailing markets and identify those which are set to grow.
Identify the leaders of unmanned site development in less mature automatic fuel retailing markets.

Content

Catalyst
Summary
Methodology
Analysis
- Price is not the core reason why customers choose unmanned sites
- High price differentials between attended and unattended sites have often been a product of unmanned market immaturity
- Convenience is the most desirable aspect of unmanned site usage
- CEE players have adopted the unmanned site concept as a way of maintaining network efficiency and geographic coverage
- Neste and Hydro Texaco have been strong advocates of unmanned fuel retailing sites in the Central and Eastern European markets
- Lukoil and PKN Orlen are refining their fuel retailing propositions with unmanned sites
- The Nordic markets illustrate the importance of balancing fuel sales maximisation and non-fuels development
- Switzerland's new builds will tend to include shops resulting in a decrease in the penetration of unattended stations in the networks of most providers
- Sweden's unmanned fuel retailing market has scope for further penetration as demonstrated in the interest of both large and small players to expand in this sector
- Denmark will witness further consolidation as the OK acquisition of DK Benzin allows it to further expand its unmanned network
- New builds in Finland will continue to be biased towards unmanned sites with shop investment mainly occurring for larger sized convenience stores
- The current penetration of unmanned sites demonstrates that the potential for the site format is far from exhausted
- There is an enormous disparity between European markets in terms of the penetration of unmanned sites into the fuel retailing network
- Although Europe has witnessed a large decline in the size of its networks, growth in the number of unmanned sites is noteworthy
- Over half of Europe's fuel retailing markets have fewer than 100 unmanned sites in their fuel station network
Appendix
- Extended methodology
- Ask the analyst
List of Figures
- Figure 1: Private card usage for selected European markets, 2004
- Figure 2: Penetration of unmanned sites into selected CEE fuel retailing markets, 2005
- Figure 3: Lukoil's unmanned site plans for Lithuania
- Figure 4: Penetration of unmanned sites into Switzerland's fuel retailing market
- Figure 5: Penetration of unmanned sites into Sweden's fuel retailing market, 2005
- Figure 6: Penetration of unmanned sites into Denmark's fuel retailing market, 2005
- Figure 7: Penetration of unmanned sites into Finland's fuel retailing market, 2005
- Figure 8: Penetration of unmanned sites into Europe's fuel retailing markets
- Figure 9: Growth in unmanned sites in Europe's main automatic fuel retailing markets
- Figure 10: Growth in unmanned sites in Europe's low penetration automatic fuel retailing markets