SAVANNAH, Ga. – Parker’s, a nationally acclaimed convenience store company and food service leader that was named the 2020 Convenience Store Decisions Chain of the Year, has been included on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for the sixth time. The Inc. 5000 list recognizes the top 0.07% of all private companies in the U.S. in terms of growth.
Inc. officially released the complete list of honorees earlier today and will recognize the winners in the September 2021 issue of the magazine and at the Inc. 5000 Vision Conference, which will be held on October 19-20, 2021 in Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Once again, Parker’s joins top U.S. companies on the Inc. 5000 list. To earn a spot on the highly competitive annual list, companies needed to achieve significant revenue and human resources growth between 2017 and 2020.
“It takes grit and determination to reach this milestone in any year, but you’ve done it during one of the hardest milestones we’ve ever endured as a country,” Inc. Editor-in-Chief Scott Omelianuk told the winners in a special video message. “Not only have you managed to survive, but you have thrived – and that’s truly inspiring.”
Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker – who opened the first Parker’s store in Midway, Ga. in 1976 and has led the company through an ambitious expansion strategy over the past decade – credits a stellar team and loyal customers with helping the company achieve this landmark achievement, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The past 18 months have been incredibly challenging, but our hard-working team members and our loyal customers have helped make Parker’s a smarter, better and more resilient company,” said Parker. “We’re truly humbled to be honored, for the sixth time, as one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies, offering exceptional customer service, state-of-the-art technology and award-winning, Southern-inspired food to our customers 365 days a year.”
Always on the cutting edge, Parker’s uses predictive analytics and machine learning to determine the most seamless, frictionless and time-efficient ways to complete transactions and to prepare the freshest possible food to meet customer demand. The company is also a pioneer in GPS-enabled mobile app technology and has seen a 40% increase in contactless payment through the Parker’s Rewards app during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s owns and operates 70 stores throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina and is in the middle of a $50 million expansion into the Charleston, S.C. market. The company has enjoyed steady 20 to 24 percent annual growth every year for the past 22 years, which is extremely rare in the retail industry.
Since its founding in 1976, Parker’s has grown to become an award-winning company with state-of-the-art convenience stores located throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina, serving delicious, award-winning Southern-inspired Parker’s Kitchen food that’s made from scratch on-site. Parker’s was recently named the 2020 Convenience Store Decisions Chain of the Year, which is the convenience store industry’s highest honor, and was voted one of America’s top 10 gas station brands by USA TODAY readers. The company also earned a 2020 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award, which is presented to the top 10% of restaurants across the United States.
Currently celebrating its 45th anniversary, Parker’s has also been honored by Food and Wine as one of America’s Best Convenience Stores, by The Shelby Report as the Southeast Retailer of the Year and by Convenience Store News as the Foodservice Leader of the Year. The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 228,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date.
Parker’s stands apart as one of America’s most respected convenience store brands and is known for having the cleanest stores in the industry. The company serves award-winning Southern-inspired food, offers an acclaimed Parker’s Rewards program and gives back to every community where it does business through the Fueling the Community charitable giving program and the Parker’s Community Fund. Parker’s employs more than 1,200 individuals throughout Georgia and South Carolina and completes more than 125,000 transactions daily.