Viva Energy has announced a new brand that will gradually replace Coles Express across the country.
Launched today, Reddy Express will operate alongside the On The Run (OTR) offer as it rolls out store conversions.
As part of the acquisition of the Coles Express convenience business in September last year, the convenience stores were to continue to trade under the Coles Express brand on a transitional basis, but over time would carry new store brands.
Under the arrangements agreed with Coles Group, reference to ‘Coles Express’ will be removed from the sites and replaced over the course of 3.5 years from completion of the acquisition (1 May 2023), with most rebranded over two years.
Viva Energy is in the process of obtaining regulatory approvals to complete the acquisition of the OTR business (announced in April 2023) which will see the extension of the OTR offer over time to the convenience stores that support the format.
While some stores will likely move directly to OTR, a large proportion of the network will operate under the Reddy Express brand.
The Reddy Express brand will support and enhance the existing offer, with coffee, snacks and high-quality food-to-go.
Customers will continue to have access to existing loyalty programs, including participation in FlyBuys, the 4cpl discount dockets with Coles supermarkets and have access to Coles branded products.
The network will continue to carry the Shell brand and sell Shell fuel products under a long-term brand licence agreement through to 2029.
CEO of the Viva Energy Convenience and Mobility business, Jevan Bouzo, highlighted at the launch that the Reddy Express brand is extremely important to the business, team members and customers.
“Consistency and familiarity are critical to reassure our customers that they will continue to receive the same great service, offers, loyalty and rewards as they enjoy today,” said Bouzo.
“The transition of the Coles Express business over to Viva Energy has gone very well and the rebranding of these sites now to Reddy Express is the next step while we await the approval process of the OTR acquisition,” he said.
“As we announced this year, once approved, OTR will be our leading convenience brand which is planned to be rolled out across the network longer term and represents a world-class convenience offer matched with high-quality Shell fuels.”
