The thing about gas is if you make 10 cents on a gallon, you are doing good. Skinny's, which has 95 convenience stores across Texas, including 30 in Abilene, has an average profit margin of about 7 cents a gallon from its gasoline, said Joe Davis, the company's chief executive officer. The business would like to have a profit margin averaging about 11 cents to keep the overhead costs stable. It may not be as lucrative as it should be as far as your investment, but maybe you can survive. If the competition starts decreasing, consumers will not have as many places from which to shop, Allred said.
Customers can benefit from a lot of competition because of better pricing and service.
Raymon Milligan, owner of Milligan's Texaco in Tye, said he makes 7 cents profit off each gallon. That fits me to a tee. It's a rough game. It's taken so much money for the little dab of money that you make off of it. Correspondent Billie Mercer contributed to this report.