Elmshorn, 20 March 2018 – With technical innovations, targeted expansion of the stations and a clear focus on the customer needs, the star petrol stations have stood their ground in the German market since their launch in 2003. Thanks to future-oriented concepts, the newcomer was able to quickly prove themselves alongside established, large patrol station brands and attract many delighted customers.
The reason for the success: star acts flexibly and dynamically, in order to adapt itself again and again to the changing customer needs. Within the scope of the new petrol station concept "star connect", the petrol stations will be changing over the coming months and years from traditional petrol stations with shops to gastronomical meeting places with a feel-good atmosphere. There is also a wide range of fresh meals and drinks for small breaks on the way.
star is offering solutions for different occasions, such as for commuters, travellers or parents with children and is strongly guided by the changing consumer behaviour of customers. Therefore, star also offers tasty own-brand products, such as the popular energy drink from star and high-quality coffee in various varieties, which is produced especially for star through a partnership with the well-known coffee producer Dallmayr.
More than low-priced refuel
In addition to the low price, the friendly and sympathetic service is what makes the difference at star. The goal is to become the most popular petrol station in Germany. And this goal is achieved, as evidenced for example by the benchmark study "Fanfocus". Here star turned out to be the petrol station brand with the most fans. In addition, star reached a top ranking in the "price-performance winner" of the YouGov BrandIndex.
Investments in innovation and network development
For some years, alternative mobility solutions have become increasingly important. Consequently, they form another focus of star connect and include, among other things, the opening of hydrogen filling stations in Mülheim an der Ruhr and Wolfsburg. With these pilot stations, star is the first patrol station brand in the low-cost segment to gain experience with the new technology. And also on the subject of contactless payment, which star had introduced in 2010 as the first patrol station brand in Germany, star takes on a pioneering role.
As part of these changes, a large number of the star petrol stations are currently being modernized. In addition to the expansion and modernisation of more than 200 of the over 570 existing petrol stations over the next three years, new locations are also to be added. The focus here is on the regions where there are not yet any star petrol stations, for instance Bavaria.
2003 – the eagle landed
The first patrol station was opened by PKN Orlen in Germany on June 6th, 2003, on the Prenzlauer Promenade in Berlin, in the presence of the former Minister for Labour and Economic Affairs, Wolfgang Clement, and the former Polish Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Social Policy, Jerzy Hausner. Four eagles – the red eagle's head is the symbol of the Polish parent company PKN ORLEN - circled above the petrol station on this day. Even today, this first patrol station is still pioneering for the company - it is the pilot station of the new star connect concept.
The company made use of a unique opportunity to enter the German market. Aral and BP had to sell about four percent of their market share due to antitrust restrictions. On this occasion, PKN ORLEN acquired 494 patrol stations for a total of 140 million euros in spring 2003 from the just-merged Aral / BP group.
PKN ORLEN is the largest Central and Eastern European Corporation and was the first Polish company to invest in this volume in the German market. Already in 2006, three years after the first opening of the service station, ORLEN Germany reached the profit zone. In the meantime, it has become the strongest company in Schleswig-Holstein based on sales and now wants to encourage other companies from Poland and the east of the EU to have the courage to enter Western markets.
star – a strong brand from ORLEN Deutschland GmbH
star is the petrol station brand of ORLEN Deutschland GmbH, which has been operating more than 570 petrol stations in the northern half of Germany since 2003. The company, which is based in Elmshorn near Hamburg, is part of the Polish oil and energy group PKN ORLEN SA, which is the largest enterprise in Central Eastern Europe, with an annual turnover of EUR 18 billion in 2016.
PKN ORLEN is one of the leading players in the oil and energy market and the only Polish company included in the prestigious Fortune 500 list of the world's biggest companies.
PKN ORLEN operates a modern infrastructure capable of processing more than 30 million tons of different crude oils per year. With around 2700 petrol stations, the network is one of the largest in the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe.
Contact:
ORLEN Deutschland GmbH
Wieslaw Milkiewicz / Managing Director and Press Officer
Isabel Scherer / Head of Corporate Communications
180301_PM_star_Tankstellen_15 years ORLEN Deutschland_EN.pdf