An entrepreneur at heart with a genuine passion for customer service, Alain Bouchard opened the very first Couche-Tard in Laval in 1980. Since then, the small neighbourhood convenience store has continued to expand and now enjoys a global presence. Couche-Tard is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In the United States, it is the largest independent convenience store operator in terms of the number of company-operated stores. As of February 3, 2019, Couche-Tard’s network comprised 9,933 convenience stores throughout North America, including 8,662 stores with road transportation fuel dispensing. In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia through ten business units. As of February 3, 2019, Couche-Tard’s network comprised 2,709 stores, the majority of which offer road transportation fuel and convenience products while the others are unmanned automated fuel stations which only offer road transportation fuel. In addition, under licensing agreements, more than 2,100 stores are operated under the Circle K banner in 14 other countries and territories (Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Mexico, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam), which brings the worldwide total network to more than 16,000 stores. Working in the great Couche-Tard/Circle K family also means belonging to a vast network of convenience stores that gives its customers a total shopping experience. Overall, the Couche-Tard network employs over 130,000 people dedicated to making its customers' lives a little easier every day.