Needs Convenience is a chain of convenience stores throughout eastern Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The Needs logo and trademark are owned by Sobeys Inc.

Sobeys

Sobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,300 supermarkets operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than $14 billion CAD in 2009...

. Individual stores are operated by independent franchisees

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

. Sobeys is the exclusive supplier to the chain.

Many stores operate from 6AM-midnight, however there are some 24 hour locations in larger urban centres. In recent years, the Needs chain has begun installing gasoline stations at a limited number of locations using either the Ultramar Limited

Ultramar

Ultramar is a Canadian oil refining and marketing company formerly known as Golden Eagle or Aigle d'or. Its head office is in Montreal...

 or Sobeys Fast Fuels brands.

History

The Needs Convenience chain developed out of a series of small acquisitions by Sobeys, beginning with the TRA wholesale business in Middleton, Nova Scotia

Middleton, Nova Scotia

Middleton is a Canadian town in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.It is situated on the north bank of the Annapolis River. Incorporated in 1909, it is located near the centre of the Annapolis Valley, from which it gets its nickname, "The Heart of the Valley".-Economy:Founded by New England Planters,...

. By the mid-1990s, Needs stores were being branded throughout the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Sobeys-owned Green Gables chain was changed over to Needs by the late 1990s as part of a final effort to consolidate the region's up-scale convenience store market.

During the early 2000s, Sobeys experimented with converting several Needs stores to the Sobeys Express brand on a limited trial basis. The trial was unsuccessful and the stores reverted back to the Needs brand, however several stores are now being branded as Needs Convenience Extra or Needs Convenience Plus.

See also

• Foodland
  Foodland (Canada)
  Foodland is a Canadian chain of grocery stores found mostly in rural New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Ontario, owned by Sobeys. They range in size from...
  
   and Price Chopper
  Price Chopper
  Price Chopper Supermarkets is a chain of supermarkets headquartered in Schenectady, New York. The chain began operating as Central Markets in Schenectady, New York in 1933 and changed its name to Price Chopper in 1973. It is presently owned by the Golub Corporation and run by Neil and Jerel Golub...
  
   for other Sobeys-owned small grocery stores.
• Riteway, Kwik-Way, and Clover Farm for other Sobeys-owned convenience store brands operated by franchisees.