Here's what you need to know for the 2nd Quarter...

👉  Out of nine markets visited in the 2nd Quarter, three were Pennzoil branded, while the other six were Castrol stores. Pennzoil stores included Texas, Kansas and Sonoma (CA). Castrol locations were Martinsville (VA), Bristol (VA/TN), Richmond (VA), Talladega (AL), Charlotte (NC), and Michigan.

👉  There were two oil change specials on Rollback during the 2nd Quarter: Pennzoil Platinum and Castrol High Mileage February 1 - May 10, 2017; Pennzoil High Mileage and Castrol Edge May 10 - August 9, 2017.

👉  Castrol had a "The Fate of the Furious" movie ticket promotion from Mar 1-May 31, 2017. Customers had to purchase an oil change service featuring Castrol GTX High Mileage, Castrol GTX MAGNATEC or Castrol EDGE at participating service centers to get movie ticket(s), depending on which service they received. Customers could redeem online or by mail.

👉  Mobil 1 came out with a new product in March: Annual Protection Oil and Filters. Stores reported to us that it has not been selling as well as expected because customers are skeptical of only changing their oil once per year. Mobil 1 was running a sales campaign to support the product launch, offering a $10 Walmart eGift Card with purchase of 5 quarts. The stickers are on each bottle and also a shelf talker explains the promotion. Eligible for purchases made at select Walmart stores between May 31 - September 8, 2017, while supplies last.

👉  During the second quarter, we started seeing shortages for the Pennzoil synthetic products, due to problems at the refineries. Stores were not informed of why there were shortages until the Walmart Shareholders event in late May. We did not know why there were supply issues either, so we passed on the information from the stores that we received. It affected some stores ability to provide the Rollback for the Pennzoil Platinum oil change special during that time.

👉  Castrol GTX diesel continued their pallet promotion in Q2. It did not sell as well as anticipated and managers were forced to find space on the shelf once the promotion was over. Some stores put it in end caps or on one side of the next Castrol oil display pallet. Many stores were marking it down to get it to move.

👉  Rotella filters were being phased out in stores where they weren't selling well. They were also moved from the middle to the bottom of the filter shelf.

👉  New stores or store re-models are using the Pennzoil branded bottles on the department banner boards in the Automotive/Auto Care Center area.

👉  Quaker State Pit Crew oil change special for $19.99 (typically) is the best seller for oil changes, even in Castrol branded stores.