The Century Club: Chester Cadieux

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Oct 1, 2007 by Marcia Shottenkirk

Entrepreneur Chester Cadieux's signature phrase is, "It's better to be lucky than smart." However, the native Tulsan has demonstrated a strong business intellect through the decades, building his QuikTrip Corp. into one of the largest privately held companies in Oklahoma.

When Cadieux's father, who was of French-Canadian descent, moved from Chicago to Tulsa, he worked for a small oil company. His son grew up in the northeastern Oklahoma city, graduating from Central High School.

He then pursued his education at the University of Oklahoma. For four years following his college days, Cadieux served in the U.S. Air Force.

After his discharge, he co-founded the QuikTrip Corp. with his schoolmate, Burt B. Holmes, in 1958. With no competition to be found, they made the choice to enter the convenience store business in Tulsa.

Even in the beginning, Cadieux understood that as convenience stores would become more prevalent, convenience itself would become a commodity.

"Convenience has value (only) when there isn't much of it. We just focus on being good retailers," he has said.

That's why he has always invested in changing his stores - from the exterior design and interior decor to the merchandise.

When they began, the initial capital was $16,000; Cadieux borrowed his $5,000 share from his father. Later, suppliers came up with enough to help him expand the chain.

Cadieux began as the gasoline and convenience store operation's night manager as well as president.

Today, with annual sales in excess of $6 billion, QuikTrip operates 475 stores primarily in major cities, including Tulsa, Kansas City, Wichita, Des Moines, St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix. He has always wanted his customers to think of his stores not as shops of last resort but as places they enjoy visiting.

For the fifth year in a row, QuikTrip has been included on Fortune's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America."

Cadieux considers the nearly 9,000 people who work for QuikTrip to be the company's most important asset.

Until 2005, Cadieux served as chairman of the board for QuikTrip Corp. He had also served as president and CEO for 45 years, and he still serves as a director of QuikTrip's board.

Cadieux has been named to the University of Tulsa Business Hall of Fame, the Tulsa Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. This year, Cadieux is being honored as the Convenience Store/Petroleum Retailer of the Year at the annual National Association of Convenience Stores Convention.

Giving back to the community has always been important to Cadieux. In fact, QuikTrip gives 5 percent of its profit to local charities.

In addition, his civic involvements have been many. He has served as chairman of Phillips Theological Seminary, chairman of the Tulsa River Parks Authority Board of Trustees, the National Association of Convenience Stores and the Tulsa Area United Way.