Source:
Sunday Telegraph (UK)As it was reported in Germany that BP was planning to sell its German forecourt business, Aral, for €2bn, the 475 distributors who control the bulk of BP's petrol stations in America, fear that sticking with the BP brand may continue to hurt their sales.
In some extreme cases sales have fallen by up to 40pc at certain stations since the rig explosion at Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20.
A move back to the Amoco name would also probably end the growing instances of vandalism at BP's American petrol stations – with several in the New York area alone daubed in mud and black paint in protest at the oil spill.
... John Kleine, executive director of the BP Amoco Marketers Association, which represents the US distributors, told The Sunday Telegraph that the subject is raised in the course of nearly every conversation he has with members.
... Although it remains unclear whether there is enough groundswell of consensus for BP to change its brand in the US, Mr Kleine believes that the issue will be brought up at the distributor's annual meeting with the oil giant's senior management team in October.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7920315/US-petrol-stations-to-consider-banishing-BP-from-the-pumps.html