Maverik Continues to Sell Kum & Go Merch Despite Shelving Brand
After acquiring the Iowa-based chain Kum & Go in 2023, Maverik announced that it would begin the steps to phase out the brand in 2025. Kum & Go gas stations will be rebranded as "Maverik" gas stations. I suppose the lack of a "c" in "Maverick" gives it a cooler, edgier look as opposed to one that inspires jokes.
Fast-forward to 2026 and there are no Kum & Go stores left in Iowa. They have all been rebranded to Maverik stores. No less, last week, The Des Moines Register reported that Maverik locations are still selling merchandise of the defunct brand despite the 400 stores across Iowa and multiple other states no longer harboring the name.
READ MORE: Johnny Knoxville, Jackass Once Brought National Attention to Kum & Go
How Maverik is Still Profiting Off the Kum & Go Brand:
On Maverik's website, Kum & Go hats, t-shirts, and hoodies remain available for purchase. While the shirts proudly boast the original circular red logo, which has become instantly recognizable through the decades, Maverik branding apparently exists on the collar of the shirts.
The Des Moines Register caught up with Des Moines resident Dylan Lampe, who has been vocal of his criticism on Maverik's Facebook page concerning the move to sell merch of the defunct brand.
As petty as it might seem, Lampe has a point. When a company acquires a brand for the purpose of erasing it and using it as a launchpad for their own branding, they typically scrub everything related to the past in favor of the present/future. What Maverik is doing is particularly unusual. They want their cake (Maverik stores) but they want to indulge in leftovers (selling/profiting off of the Kum & Go name).
Lampe also told The Des Moines Register that Maverik received financial incentives from the Des Moines City Council to maintain a regional office in the city; one that employed 250 people. Despite this, most of those employees wound up losing their jobs during layoffs as Maverik consolidated its operations to its home base in Utah. Most of the money Des Moines allocated to the company was forfeited.
While Kum & Go gear is available online, they won't be made available in Maverik stores. Moreover, if you're like me, when the news was first announced, you stopped at various Kum & Go stores you passed in hopes of getting some merch before the inevitable rebrand occurred. While I was disappointed with how much of the merch sold at the stores I stopped at simply said "K&G" and not the full name, I did end up getting a bottle-opener and gigantic water jug, both of which now serve as keepsakes for the lost brand.
READ MORE: Kum & Go Gas Stations are Starting to Disappear in Iowa and Across the US
While it was initially believed that Maverik would keep the recognizable, beloved Kum & Go brand alive, they clearly had other plans. Now, you can't find a Kum & Go store in all of Iowa. And it's a shame. Find out more about Maverik continuing to sell Kum & Go merch on The Des Moines Register's website.
10 Questions You Should Never Ask Somebody From Iowa
More From Y105
