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The dramatic drop in traffic has caused gas station stores across the country to close at night, with some closing.
CLOSED: Several gas station owners have chosen to close entirely because the corona virus keeps people at home. Even more have nightly or reduced opening hours.
Sindre Hopland
published:,
“All of our stations have had to introduce night closings to cut costs,” says Thommas Østborg Landsem, who owns a franchise in the St1 system and operates six service stations in Oslo.
It also closed a station entirely, as this store depended on regular customers from the taxi and construction industry.
Landsem says it has not closed or closed any of the stations before.
– When road traffic drops so dramatically, of course it becomes difficult to operate a service station. It is very demanding, says Landsem.
Looking at the traffic figures from the Norwegian Public Highway Administration, it is not difficult to understand why the turnover has fallen like a rock.
In Oslo and Akershus, traffic volume has decreased by 31.4 percent compared to last year, according to the latest figures from the Norwegian Public Highway Administration from last week. Development is similar or worse in the other major cities.
CLOSED: Several gas station owners have chosen to close entirely because the corona virus keeps people at home. Even more have nightly or reduced opening hours.
Sindre Hopland
40 percent decrease in sales
Where grocery stores must constantly fill shelves, gas station stores see the opposite effect.
– We see a 40 percent decrease in store sales and a 30 percent decrease in fuel sales, says Sigrid Louise Philippart, communications manager for St1.
Franchisee driver Landsem says the figure is also representative of its stations.
St1 has more than 300 gas station stores spread across Norway and more than 2,500 employees.
Typically, many gas stations are open 24 hours a day, but the company now reports that more than 50 percent of stores remain closed overnight.
In addition, three stores have closed entirely, despite the pumps being open, says Philippart on St1
– Has this happened before?
“It’s not familiar to me,” says Philippart.
bankruptcies
The service station industry has seen a steady decline in sales and fewer outlets, a development that often goes beyond districts where the service station is a major gathering place for locals.
Virke Servicehandel’s latest survey, which came before the government crisis packages, paints a very bleak picture, with nine out of ten fearful of the future of the industry.
Despite existing support schemes, Virke Servicehandel manager Iman Winkelman believes that more people will go bankrupt as a result of the crisis.
– Generally, franchisees operate at their own risk and expense. Many have weak assets and there is no parent company at the back that can contribute capital, says Winkelman.
The Landsem franchisee says he doesn’t think it goes against bankruptcy, but cautions:
– In the short term we will do well, but if the situation persists throughout the summer, it will quickly become a challenge. How long you can stay on it is limited.
Easter smell
That sales volume will be record for service stations as a result of the crown crisis, which comes at the peak of a very weak year, with store sales declining 4.2 percent.
Especially bad is for those stations along the way where Norwegians usually lead to the Easter Mountain.
– For many stations, it is the Easter traffic that ensures a solid operation during the rest of the year.
Confirmed, among other things, the general manager, Roger Danielsberg, in Bolleland, a Shell station in Spain in Stange.
– We are living great departure days, says Danielsberg, who is self-employed.
He says Easter accounts for about 30 percent of annual sales in the first half.
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