Jeff Lenard Retail Quotations

California retailers have a whole lot of obstacles to selling gasoline. You have stringent environmental regulations that add to it.

It's all related to how recently you got your shipment. Retailers base prices on replacement costs.

There has been an incredible increase in the number of retailers who are throwing up their hands and saying, 'That's it, we are going to require prepay until we can figure out another way,'

There is a 12-cent per gallon normal retail markup. But usually, the profit margin is about two cents a gallon.

This week, there's been a huge upswing in retailers who've said, 'Enough. I can't figure out another way to prevent theft,' who've gone to prepay.

There was an increase in thefts immediately, especially with the dramatic increase of prices. After Katrina, there were so many retailers that couldn't absorb losses anymore ... so they went to prepay. They couldn't afford that one drive-off a day that would hurt their gas profits. And with Rita ... we will see more stations go pre-pay, if nothing else, as a temporary solution.