type private industry retail convenience stores founded hampton iowa 1959 headquarters west des moines iowa key people william krause and tony gentle founders kyle krause ceo revenue 2.10 billion 2011 1 number of employees 3 942 1 website www.kumandgo.com kum & go is a convenience store chain primarily located in the midwestern united states . the company based in west des moines iowa operates over 400 stores in 11 states primarily in its home state of iowa . 2 kum & go was ranked as the 23rd largest convenience store chain in the united states by convenience store news in 2010 . 3 contents 1 background 2 company expansion 3 cultural references 4 references 5 external links background edit the chain was founded by william a. krause and tony s. gentle who founded the hampton oil company in hampton iowa in 1959 . hampton oil eventually became the krause gentle corporation which is kum & go s parent company . in 1963 krause gentle introduced the company s first convenience stores selling both fuel and merchandise items in which they changed their gas station into a station store . 4 the kum & go name was adopted in 1975 5 to unify the company s array of stores under a single brand . it was a play on the phrase come and go using the initials of founders krause and gentle . sales of kum & go branded merchandise increased after johnny knoxville was seen wearing a kum & go t shirt during a scene in the 2006 movie jackass number two . 6 part of the kum & go franchise success was due in part to a unique marketing campaign in which they featured the kum & go gold cup . the cup was introduced in late 2008 for the holiday season . it featured an 8oz coffee mug for 50.00 and benefitted customers by offering unlimited coffee and soda fountain refills for 2009 at any kum & go location . company expansion edit a kum & go market at a cenex gas station in miles city montana 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 . 7 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 . 8 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 . 9 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 . cultural references edit kum and go was mentioned in the desaparecidos song greater omaha and in the they might be giants venue song sokol auditorium . johnny knoxville is seen wearing a shirt with the kum & go logo in the movie jackass number two . kum and go was shown in the south park episode a nightmare on facetime . references edit kum & go sign montana a b 208 kum & go . forbes . 2011 11 16 . retrieved 2013 06 23 . about kum & go . retrieved 2010 12 08 . longo don 2010 07 26 . top 100 convenience stores . convenience store news . retrieved 2010 12 08 . kum & go history . archived from the original on 2008 06 24 . retrieved 2008 08 24 . kum & go trademark by kum & go l.c. . trademarkia . retrieved 2010 12 08 . elbert david 2006 12 19 . how convenient film comes out t shirt sales go up . the des moines register . p. 1d . kum & go to sell 21 locations . convenience store news . 2008 05 02 . retrieved 2008 08 24 . casey s to purchase 22 kum & go stores in iowa . the daily iowegan . 2011 06 03 . retrieved 2011 06 06 . the largest private companies . forbes . 2009 10 28 . retrieved 2010 12 08 . external links edit official website krause gentle corporation profile v t e convenience stores v t e major convenience stores in africa kenya national oil morocco mini brahim south africa sasol spar zimbabwe spar express v t e major convenience stores in asia east 759 store 7 eleven circle k circle k sunkus cu daily yamazaki familymart gs25 hi life lawson ministop ok mart parknshop express poplar spar storyway vango with me southeast 108 shop 7 eleven all day alfamart b s mart choices co.op food cheers circle k fairprice xpress fresh mart jiffy lawson lawson 108 familymart indomaret mini big c ministop mesra shop & go star mart tesco lotus express tops daily vango south spar west circle k spar former ampm buy the way bp connect daily stop on the run v t e major convenience stores in europe northern 7 eleven bargain booze best one bp connect budgens centra the co operative food costcutter david sands deli de luca happy shopper jones convenience stores kwik save little waitrose londis ireland londis united kingdom mace narvesen nisa on the run one stop pressbyr n r kioski mccoll s sainsbury s local scotmid spar tesco express southern couche tard mac s on the run opencor provi soir spar eastern billa cba groszek ma pka express spar abka western albert heijn carrefour city delhaize franprix march plus monoprix on the run petit casino spar former jacksons stores local plus mills morrisons m local somerfield ugo v t e major convenience stores in north america canada 7 eleven circle k cst brands couche tard irving mac s convenience stores needs convenience on the run pioneer provi soir quickie convenience stores honduras circle k mexico 7 eleven circle k oxxo super city tiendas extra united states 7 eleven a plus abc stores albertsons allsup s ampm casey s general stores cenex chevron circle k convenient food mart cst brands cumberland farms dairy barn dari mart exxon famima gate petroleum getgo getty go mart high s dairy store holiday jr. food mart jr. food stores kum & go kwik fill red apple country fair kwik trip kwik star kroger convenience stores kwik shop loaf n jug quik stop smith s express tom thumb turkey hill lawson love s travel stops & country stores mapco express minit mart mobil mart on the go on the run the pantry pdq food stores pilot flying j pilot food mart plaid pantry quality dairy company quick chek quiktrip racetrac raceway road ranger roady s truck stops royal farms rutter s sheetz speedway stewart s shops stripes convenience stores stuckey s superamerica tedeschi food shops thorntons inc. tom s convenience store town pump travelcenters of america united dairy farmers wawa food markets weigel s former becker s bp connect town & country food stores uni mart utotem white hen pantry wilco v t e major convenience stores in oceania australia 7 eleven bp connect newslink nightowl convenience stores spar express new zealand bp connect night n day woolworths gull list of convenience stores retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title kum % 26 go & oldid 723062220 categories west des moines iowacompanies based in iowaeconomy of the midwestern united statesconvenience stores of the united statescompanies established in 19591959 establishments in iowa navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout 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