History
Clarks Foundation
In 1932, Emory T. Clark, a general contractor by trade, opened the first Clark gasoline station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when the client for whom he was building the station could not pay his loan. Emory Clark built the Clark brand throughout the upper Midwest and by the late 1970’s, he had established a strong market presence and a reputation for the sale of high quality gasolines at discount prices.
New Ownership = New Focus
During the 1980’s and 90’s, Clark had several ownership changes during which the company expanded its retail and refining operations. Like many other independent oil companies, the company also faced a series of financial challenges.
In late 2003, a team of oil industry veterans and other investors, acquired the Clark gasoline brand and other key brands in the Clark family. They formed Clark Brands, LLC and focused on providing comprehensive branding and payment processing solutions for independents who want alternative branding and payment
processing options.
Clark Brands, based in Naperville, IL, licenses the Clark gasoline brand and the Four Corners Coffee brand to independent petroleum marketers and retailers. Clark Licensees manage their own petroleum supply, purchasing at their lowest available cost everyday. Clark also provides comprehensive credit card processing services, including the Clark Platinum MasterCard, and other marketing programs that add value for its customers.
The Clark MasterCard offers consumers the highest potential everyday rebate on gasoline in the petroleum industry. Clark MasterCard customers can earn up to an 8% rebate everyday on all of their purchases at Clark. The rebate customers earn at Clark is based on how much they spend on the card every month.
The Clark brand has become The Choice of Independents. Clark customers get everything they expect from a brand without the hassle of managing their own brand, adhering to the dictates of major oil companies, or paying major brand prices.
Once primarily a Great Lakes region company, today Clark Brands operates today in 28 states as its reach has expanded from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico and from Virginia to Arizona. Clark provides branding and credit card services to more than 700 locations and is expanding rapidly.