How does a Holiday Stationstore operate after opening?
Under the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a Holiday Stationstore is a location-based fuel and convenience retail operation. The franchisee staffs and runs the site, buys fuel and core merchandise through prescribed channels, processes transactions through required systems, and reports store activity to Holiday Diversified Services, LLC.
The unit converts customer traffic into fuel, foodservice, grocery, merchandise and, where installed, car-wash transactions. The franchisee executes daily retail operations and sets consumer prices; Holiday Diversified Services, LLC controls the brand system, required programs, supplier classifications, technology, data rules, inspections and the market-specific transition from Holiday to Circle K signage.
Data basis: Holiday Diversified Services, LLC (HDS) is the legal franchisor; TMC Franchise Corporation is its direct parent, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is the ultimate parent, and Holiday Stationstores, Inc. (HSI) is an operating affiliate. The FDD was issued July 9, 2025 and covers Holiday Stationstore and site-dependent Holiday Express formats. Items 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19 and 20 and the Franchise Agreement were reviewed; Item 20 reports through April 27, 2025. Official pages were checked July 31, 2026.
The FDD is cited without a link because no matching franchise-controlled public copy was verified. The official Holiday franchise page supplements, but does not replace, the FDD and Franchise Agreement.
What does the unit sell, and who buys it?
A Holiday Stationstore sells Automotive Fuels and the FDD-defined category “Groceries, Food Service Items and Merchandise” to the general public. The required retail mix can include coffee, prepared sandwiches, bakery, fountain drinks, packaged groceries, convenience merchandise, cigarettes and tobacco, plus designated proprietary and national-brand items. The public site also presents Holiday food, Holiday Coffee and fuel information.
Forecourt and in-store retail
Motorists and nearby consumers purchase fuel at the dispensers and merchandise or prepared food inside the store. The franchisee must maintain the prescribed product and foodservice programs, but retains complete and independent authority to set retail prices, including gasoline prices.
Fleet, promotions and car wash
The system includes consumer credit, commercial fleet, gift-card, coupon and loyalty mechanisms designated by HDS. An optional car wash can add per-wash or recurring membership transactions at participating locations; the official car-wash page describes Unlimited and Express customer plans, not universal availability.
How does work move through a Holiday Stationstore?
The operating cycle connects controlled demand programs, restricted supply channels, store preparation, designated payments and recurring reporting. Assortment varies by format and location; the actor-to-system relationships below come from the 2025 FDD and Franchise Agreement.
Generate and route demand
- Actor
- HDS, HSI and the franchisee.
- Action
- HDS and HSI run system or regional promotions; the franchisee operates the site and uses approved local advertising.
- System/asset
- Brand website, approved digital media, loyalty, coupon, gift-card and fleet programs.
- Output
- Customer visit, fuel stop or in-store purchase occasion.
Replenish fuel and merchandise
- Actor
- Franchisee, HDS, Fuel South Express, HSI and approved or designated suppliers.
- Action
- The franchisee orders inventory, buys at least 95% of fuel gallons from HDS and uses Fuel South Express for delivery.
- System/asset
- Electronic ordering device, Automatic Tank Gauges, tanks, dispensers and supplier programs.
- Output
- Available fuel, Commissary Products, Holiday Brand Products and required national brands.
Prepare and merchandise
- Actor
- On-premises manager and franchisee employees.
- Action
- Employees receive, stock, rotate and prepare required coffee, sandwich, commissary, bakery, drink-bar and other programs under the Operations Manual.
- System/asset
- Approved equipment, store fixtures, foodservice assets, uniforms and training materials.
- Output
- Compliant, sale-ready fuel, foodservice and merchandise assortment.
Sell and accept payment
- Actor
- Customer, cashier, manager and payment processors.
- Action
- The customer buys at the pump or counter using designated credit, debit, stored-value, Holiday credit, Holiday/WEX fleet or gift-card methods.
- System/asset
- NCR/PDI POS and Back Office System, credit authorization terminals and fuel dispensers.
- Output
- Completed transaction and recorded sales, payment, fuel-gallon and inventory data.
Reconcile, report and correct
- Actor
- Franchisee, manager, qualified bookkeeper or accountant, and HDS.
- Action
- The franchisee completes inventories and reports; HDS receives data, reviews records, inspects the store and can require corrective action.
- System/asset
- POS and Back Office System, HDS chart of accounts, Business Records and Operations Manual.
- Output
- Weekly and Accounting Period reporting, verified fees, updated records and operating compliance.
Can the store be manager-run, and who performs each function?
HDS does not require personal supervision by the franchisee, although it recommends personal and direct operation. A trained manager must supervise on-premises and remain on duty during business hours. The FDD discloses no required employee count, shift pattern, labor-hour ratio or wage structure.
Franchisee
- Employs, supervises and schedules managers, employees and contractors.
- Sets retail prices and makes day-to-day personnel decisions.
- Maintains inventory, permits, premises, records and legal compliance.
HDS and HSI
- Define system standards, training, merchandising and approved communications.
- Supply or arrange core fuel, commissary, technology and marketing mechanisms.
- Inspect, audit, receive reports and mandate system changes.
Named third parties
- Fuel South Express delivers Automotive Fuels purchased from HDS.
- NCR and PDI support required point-of-sale and back-office functions.
- Designated and approved suppliers furnish controlled operational inputs.
Which suppliers and operating systems are mandatory?
The model is supplier-restricted. HDS designates Holiday Brand Product sources, HSI supplies Commissary Products, and HDS requires the fuel path below. National Brand Merchandise allows vendor choice; an unapproved source for Approved Products must pass HDS review and testing.
Item 11 says the current POS and Back Office System transmits data to HDS; the Franchise Agreement gives HDS broader contractual rights to access, upload and download Data and Information. HDS may designate replacement systems, require added devices and mandate upgrades. Customer Information is owned by HDS, subject to privacy law, and the franchisee must report suspected data breaches immediately.
What does the franchisor control, and what remains with the franchisee?
HDS controls the Business System, Operations Manual, required product and promotional programs, supplier classifications, approved advertising, digital presence, technology specifications, store-image standards, inspections and record access. The franchisee remains the employer and operating principal: it sets retail prices, hires and directs staff, chooses its security system, manages local execution and may select vendors where the approved-supplier rules permit.
Restricted decisions
- What Holiday Brand Products and required programs the unit carries.
- Which digital media, advertising, coupons and promotions may be used.
- Which core systems, devices, specifications and upgrades are required.
- How the store presents the marks, image and prescribed customer experience.
Franchisee decisions
- Retail prices for gasoline, foodservice, merchandise and other offerings.
- Hiring, pay, scheduling, supervision and discipline of unit personnel.
- Local operating execution, inventory quantities and lawful employment practices.
- Whether to add an optional car wash, subject to site and system approval.
Does the franchisee receive an exclusive territory?
No. The franchise right attaches to the approved location, not an exclusive market. HDS and its affiliates may operate, franchise or supply competing Holiday, Circle K or other controlled brands and channels. The franchisee generally sells from the premises and needs written approval for independent websites or social-media accounts using the marks.
A site may be branded Holiday Express and may omit programs or products offered by a traditional Holiday Stationstore. Separately, the 2025 FDD states that all franchised Holiday Stationstores are intended to convert to Circle K. HDS sets the market deadline, potentially from three months to four years after the Franchise Agreement becomes effective, while the existing agreements and obligations continue.
What does Item 20 show about the operating network?
Item 20 reports 538 U.S. Holiday outlets across all Holiday Stationstores concepts, including Holiday Express, at April 27, 2025. Of those, 83 were franchised and 455 were classified in the FDD as company-owned; the footnote clarifies that every company-owned outlet was owned by HSI or another HSI affiliate.
Which operating questions remain site-specific or undisclosed?
The FDD does not publish a standard staffing model or identical program for every site. Item 19 makes no Financial Performance Representation, so it adds no store-level product or transaction mix. The location exhibits, current Operations Manual and conversion package must be reconciled before treating a Holiday Stationstore, Holiday Express or Circle K-branded unit as operationally equivalent.
- Confirm the market conversion date. Obtain the written Circle K conversion deadline and the list of signage, merchandising, technology and customer-program changes applicable to the target site.
- Identify the exact format. Verify whether the location is a traditional Holiday Stationstore or Holiday Express and which coffee, foodservice, beverage, car-wash and proprietary programs are mandatory.
- Obtain the current supplier matrix. Separate HDS fuel, Fuel South Express delivery, HSI Commissary Products, designated Holiday Brand Products, required National Brand Merchandise and locally proposed Approved Products.
- Map the installed technology. Confirm the current NCR/PDI versions, required hardware, payment terminals, ordering device, Automatic Tank Gauges, data-access permissions and upgrade roadmap.
- Validate staffing and training. The FDD does not state headcount or shift ratios, and Item 11 and Franchise Agreement Article 14 describe training hours differently; obtain the current written training schedule and actual site staffing pattern.
Official operational links
What is the practical operating conclusion?
Holiday Stationstores converts motorist and convenience demand into fuel, foodservice, merchandise, fleet, promotion and optional car-wash transactions. The franchisee’s central responsibility is site execution: staffing, inventory availability, customer service, records and reporting. The strongest dependency is HDS control over fuel sourcing, core products, technology, data, advertising and system standards. The decisive distinction is the Holiday Stationstore or Holiday Express program combined with the market-timed Circle K conversion. The largest open question is the target site’s current conversion package and resulting technology, assortment and workflow.
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