Circle K Stores, Inc. is a convenience store chain owned by the Canadian multinational operator Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc., based in Laval, Quebec. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1990 and went through several owners, before being acquired by Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2003. As of February 2020, Circle K has 9,799 stores in North America, 2,697 stores in Europe, and an additional 2,380 stores operating under franchise agreements worldwide.
In 2015, Circle K unveiled a new logo and brand identity, and Couche-Tard announced that it would deploy the brand globally, including Canada (except Quebec, rebranding from the Mac's brand), Europe (rebranding from the Statoil brand), and the United States (rebranding from the Kangaroo Express brand and updating the existing Circle K brand).
Contents
Overview
Since the 1980s, Circle K has been the largest chain of company-owned and operated (non-franchised) convenience stores in the United States. With 7,230 stores overall in the United States, Circle K is second to 7-Eleven's 9,348 stores (as of July 2019). As of February 2020, there are more than 14,800 stores with the Circle K brand worldwide.
Within the United States, Circle K owns and operates stores in 48 states (the two states without being Nebraska and Utah), with the largest concentration of stores found in Louisiana. Fuel is sold under various brands, with the Circle K and Shell brands as the most common. Other brands of fuel sold at Circle K stores include Valero, BP, Exxon, Marathon, Irving, Mobil, Esso and Phillips 66. Approximately 13% of stores worldwide do not sell fuel.
Circle K operates stores in the United States, Canada, Europe (the Nordics, Baltics, Poland, Russia and Ireland), Japan, and Hong Kong, and has franchises in Mexico (it partners with the Mexican stores "Tiendas Extra" created by Modelo Group), Cambodia, China, Egypt, Guam, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Macau, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. In Hong Kong and Macau, the stores are called OK in reference to the circle around the K. Circle K Hong Kong was founded in 1985 by Li & Fung Retailing (later Fung Retailing) as licensee of the name; however, it was sold back to Couche-Tard in 2020. Circle K had 387 franchised locations throughout Hong Kong as of May 2020.
The Circle K brand entered the Canadian market in 2008, in connection with Couche-Tard's acquisition of Irving Oil's convenience store network. By 2019, more than 800 Mac's branded stores had been rebranded to Circle K throughout central and western Canada.
In September 2015, Couche-Tard announced that Circle K would become the worldwide brand of all of its convenience stores, replacing Mac's, Kangaroo Express, Statoil, and Holiday Stationstores brands (except the Couche-Tard brand in Quebec and the INGO brand in Europe). This global rebrand included the introduction of a new logo incorporating elements of its existing brands, improvements to its product offerings and technology, and investing in store-level improvements aimed at improving the customer experience. The rebranding occurred over the following five years; as of March 2020, all of Europe and 85% of North America had been updated with the Circle K brand and logo.
History
Entrepreneur Fred Hervey purchased three Kay's Food Stores, from Kay Misenheimer, in El Paso, Texas, in 1951. Hervey renamed the stores as "Circle K Food Stores, Inc." rather than "Kay." He grew the Circle K chain into neighboring New Mexico and Arizona, which has been the company's home base since 1957. (Hervey would go on to serve two terms as mayor of El Paso.)
By 1975, there were 1,000 Circle K stores across the U.S. In 1979, Circle K first expanded its reach into foreign markets via a licensing agreement which established the first Circle K stores in Japan by UNY. Until 2018, Circle K stores in Japan were run by the FamilyMart Company, that was named Circle K Sunkus Company until 2016 and was named Circle K Japan Company until 2004, which licensed the Circle K brand from Alimentation Couche-Tard. In 2018, all Circle K stores in Japan were converted to FamilyMart stores. In 1983, the number of stores increased to 2,180 with the purchase of the 960-store UtoteM chain in the western and southern United States.
Karl Eller, a prominent Phoenix, Arizona businessman, served as the company's CEO from 1983 to 1990. During that time, Eller built Circle K into the second largest convenience store operation and the largest publicly owned convenience store chain in the U.S. with 4,631 stores in 32 states and an additional 1,300 or so licensed or joint venture stores in 13 foreign countries. Under Eller's leadership, the company grew from annual sales of $747 million ($2.41 billion in 2025 dollars) to over $3 billion ($7.39 billion in 2025 dollars).
In 1988, the company sent a letter to its over 8,000 employees announcing that it will cut off the medical coverage of those who become sick or injured as a result of AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse or self-inflicted wounds. The company stated that "There are certain lifestyle decisions that we are just not going to assure the results of."
Fortunes declined in the late 1980s as the U.S. economy began to slow down, and Circle K filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 1990; Eller resigned as CEO. Some underperforming locations were sold or closed. In 1993 the company was purchased by Investcorp, an international investment group, and emerged from bankruptcy.
In 1996, Circle K was acquired by Tosco Corporation, an independent petroleum refiner and marketer, but kept its headquarters in Phoenix. Tosco was purchased in 2001 by Phillips Petroleum, which, in 2002, merged with Conoco to form ConocoPhillips. In 2003, Circle K was purchased by Alimentation Couche-Tard, a large, multinational convenience store operator based in the Montreal area, for US$830 million ($1.45 billion in 2025 dollars).
Criticism and controversy
Animal welfare
In 2018, Couche-Tard committed to stop sourcing battery cage eggs in its corporate-owned Circle K stores in North America and Europe by 2025. In 2023, the company expanded this goal to include international franchise locations. In March 2025, the animal protection organization The Humane League criticized Circle K for failing to publicly report progress toward its cage-free commitment.
Wage violations
A 2021 report on wage theft by the Center for Public Integrity named Circle K as one of the "worst offenders" in the United States. A class-action lawsuit was brought against the company in 2014, for which the company agreed in 2019 to pay a settlement of US$8.3 million. Circle K settled a similar class-action lawsuit in 2015 as well.
Products
Fountain drinks at Circle K are sold in Polar Pop cups, previously called Thirst Busters, and are available in expanded polystyrene cups. In areas where expanded polystyrene containers are illegal, plastic or paper cups are offered. The 52-ounce cups are plastic. Most American locations offer any size, 32 ounce or under, for under $1, while 52 ounces or above cups are priced at over a dollar. The price point of its 44-ounce size (marketed as "Epic XL" in some regions) may vary, as it may be under or over $1, depending on the region.
The Polar Pop was first introduced in Bigfoot convenience stores by Johnson Oil Company in Columbus, Indiana, prior to its acquisition by Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2003. In 2005, Circle K filed a trademark for Polar Pop. In 2007, Circle K reached a settlement agreement with Polar Beverages regarding the use of the Polar Pop name. As of 2018, Circle K sells 17 Polar Pops every second in the United States.
The Froster, which was introduced to Mac's stores in 1998, became very popular throughout Western Canada and Ontario. The American version of the Froster was introduced in 1999.
Circle K locations in the Great Lakes division (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) carry Lawson's branded chip dip, which while primarily a carryover from the former Lawson's/Dairy Mart stores also spread to stores within the Great Lakes division that Couche-Tard has acquired. Following the company's acquisition of GetGo in 2025, GetGo also started carrying Lawson's chip dip, though the locations divested to MAPCO was forced to stop selling it since it is a private label product of Circle K.
Sponsorship
Circle K was a part-time primary sponsor of the No. 28 IndyCar Series racecar driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport between 2011 and 2013. In 2014, it switched to KVSH Racing driver Sébastien Bourdais. Circle K, along with Oberto Sausage Company, currently sponsors Marco Andretti.
In 2017, Circle K went to NASCAR, sponsoring Matt Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing with full livery for six races. It was on the car when Kenseth won his final NASCAR Cup Race at that year's fall race at Phoenix Raceway.
Also in 2017, Circle K became the official shirt sponsor of United Soccer League side North Carolina FC and signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with the Lithuanian Basketball League.
Due to its sizable presence in Greater Cleveland, from the former Lawson/Dairy Mart stores, Circle K sponsors the Cleveland Guardians strikeout sign. It is located in center field at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The "K" logo represents the "K" used for strikeouts in traditional baseball scorekeeping and is replicated with each strikeout. The same sponsorship is in place with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. If the Diamondbacks strikeout ten batters or more, the game's attendees receive a voucher for a free cup of Polar Pop, while Guardians fans receive the same voucher after select home games.
In May 2017, a sponsored Circle K Power Cube was introduced into the online game Ingress.
In 2025, Circle K became the official convenience store sponsor of Minor League Baseball, with signage and activations at most ballparks within the United States.