Company Expansion
In 1988, Krause Gentle moved the company's corporate headquarters to its current location in West Des Moines, Iowa. William Krause's son, Kyle, is the current CEO of Krause Gentle. Kum & Go went through a period of rapid expansion in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to building new stores, Krause Gentle acquired unwanted stores from chains such as 7-Eleven, QuikTrip, and Git 'n' Go and converted them to Kum & Go stores. In 2007 and 2008 Kum & Go auctioned off more than 40 of its smaller stores in order to focus on building larger stores ranging in size from 3,600 to 5,000 square feet (460 m2). It was announced in June, 2011 that Kum & Go had reached agreement to sell twenty-two stores, again mostly in smaller rural communities, to rival Casey's General Stores. According to Kum & Go CEO Kyle J. Krause the sale will allow reinvestment in the chains remaining stores and help drive their long term growth.
In 2009, Kum & Go ranked 238th on Forbes magazine's list of the largest private companies in the United States, ranking second to Hy-Vee among companies based in Iowa.
In addition to Kum & Go, the Krause Gentle Corporation operates Liberty Bank, the Des Moines Menace soccer team, Solar Transport (a refined fuel transporter), and Teamwork Acres (a collection of farms in Clarke, Madison, and Warren counties in Iowa). The Krause family was also involved with the Swing of the Quad Cities baseball team until selling the franchise in late 2007.
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