Larry Lytle Email & Phone Number

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

Tarheel Marketing Services is a retail consulting firm utilizing 30+ years knowledge in the convenience store and travel plaza industry. We are focused on:• Marketing & Merchandising strategy and planning• Convenience Store & Travel Plaza store design, layout, and planning• Existing store refinements, new build planning & site layout, and equipment assessment• Strategies that drive incremental store traffic, as well as sales and profit growth by differentiating offerings in an increasingly competitive market• Product selection and development, marketing, merchandising, promotions, advertising, and media• Convenience Store & Travel Plaza store analysis to develop a plan built on long-term success• Brand development and awarenessIf you are in the convenience store or travel plaza business we can assist you with all phases of your planning, development, merchandising, strategies, & marketing.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

-Key Marketing player in the Speedway acquisition of WilcoHess retail locations into Speedway chain -Responsible for $500MM+ annual sales and over 5,000 SKU's -Recommended and implemented marketing strategies and tactics aimed at increasing sales and profits -Developed and implemented best practices with both companies in all stores -Oversaw implementation of category alignment and department resets to implement Speedway corporate programs -Oversaw and executed advertising and promotional activities -Managed promotional communication to all locations for awareness of program changes -Assisting in managing integration & conversion planning to Speedway -Managed conversion planning of travel plazas to Pilot/Flying J -Managed all travel plaza and fuel plaza marketing & merchandising after acquisition -Developed and implemented trucker merchandise departments throughout Speedway chain

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

-Selected among key executives to lead and drive efforts of managing a company merger and subsequent spin-off/IPO -Worked as part of the leadership team to develop strategic EBITDA growth initiatives & cost reduction opportunities to create a strong & sustainable business model -Marketing team lead: responsible to develop plans, customer communication tactics, assemble factbase plans, set cost targets, manage projects, remove roadblocks and track results -Strategy Initiatives: Align Hess Corp and WilcoHess on go-forward strategies while developing and deploying top-line growth initiatives, stabilization milestones, highlight key interdependencies and “day 1” post-spin plans -Project Management: Key player in the transition and development of a new marketing plan, mobile app and website for Hess Retail Enterprise (HRE), social media strategy, Advertising category management and integrated marketing & PR efforts for HRE integration/separation efforts both internally and externally. Also successfully developed corporate chain POS re-branding strategy -End result: Hess Retail (HRE) was purchased for 2.6B by Marathon Petroleum Corp

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

-Developed and executed strategies that increased store sales, grew transaction counts, enhanced brand equity and customer satisfaction, improved merchandise margins and overall profitability-Provided executive leadership and direction in the areas of merchandising, category management, assortment planning, inventory management, distribution and logistics-Led the category management team, including analysis of merchandise product groups, pricing, vendor management, advertising & promotional campaigns and merchandising initiatives-Responsible for $500MM+ annual sales-Averaged same store sales growth of+10% annually-Raised gross margin by +7.0 points-Managed 300+ store remodels, store resets, and 150 store acquisition-Installed rebate and promotional programs to increase revenue-Implemented store advertising and promotional programs in all stores, including in-store, radio, TV, social media, and outdoor advertising-Successfully developed social & digital media strategies to increase visibility & traffic and plus supplier provided funding for promotions-Oversaw mobile app initiatives resulting in a mobile app launch in under six months, as well as creation of two new phases of the website in under six months-Played a key role in the selection of the company's loyalty provider and development of best practices-Developed and implemented food programs including a quality proprietary grill program, fresh made proprietary donut program, proprietary deli program, fresh fruit program, and more-Developed and implemented Dunkin Donut self service fresh donut program in 265 locations-Defined negotiating strategies and contract requirements-Approved product assortment, planogram transitions, as well as space and floor plans-Developed store format and partnership strategies; and, created expansion into non-traditional product categories-Performed all Marketing & Merchandising functions, and negotiated all Marketing contracts-Reported directly to owner

Sanford, North Carolina