At a Glance
- Independent Southeast Asian petroleum company was facing declining performance in its retail and lubricants businesses.
- Renoir Consulting developed and executed a dedicated plan that addressed sales stagnation, high operating costs, and outdated control systems.
- A 30% increase in retail fuel sales was achieved. This case study explores how Renoir helped turn around both retail and lubricant divisions to achieve profitability and sustainable growth.
Key results
Increase in retail fuel sales by
30%
Overall growth in lubricant sales
39.3%
Growth in lubricant sales through retail service stations by
14%
Cost reduction of constructing new service stations
30%
Background
The client is a well-established independent petroleum company that has been operating since 1966. Over the decades, it has built a strong reputation as an innovative business partner in the specialty oils, fuels, and lubricants sectors. Its operations span a diverse portfolio, including the management of retail service stations, lubricant blending and marketing, oil trading, and bitumen distribution. Today, it stands as one of the leading independent players in its domestic petroleum industry.
Operating in Southeast Asia—a market valued at approximately USD 14.6 billion in 2023 and projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% to USD 21.5 billion by 2032—the client is positioned in a highly dynamic and competitive landscape. The country’s petroleum consumption averages 455,000 barrels per day, with a heavy dependence on imported crude and refined products. As Southeast Asia continues to rank among the fastest-growing regions globally for petroleum demand, client’s originating country has become a focal point for expansion by international oil companies and investors seeking to grow retail fuel networks both organically and through acquisitions.
Analysis
The company was facing a deteriorating financial position. This required a significant turnaround to move towards a future of growth and profitability. The markets for specialty oils, fuels, and lubricants were highly competitive.
Specifically, the Retail business unit presented a major challenge, having been in decline for nearly 10 years. It required a substantial transformation of its financial position, facing progressive erosion of margins across all regions. There were persuasive arguments suggesting the business should be exited at the earliest opportunity. Without a compelling set of deliverables, the business risked moving from profit to loss within three years. While the Lubricants business was relatively clear-cut with sufficient margins for profitability, it required a focus on sales growth.
Renoir was engaged to plan and prepare a full-scale dedicated plan for both the Lubricant Products and Retail Service Stations businesses.
The objective was to transition the company from its difficult financial state to one of growth and profitability.
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Project Approach
This project began with a comprehensive pre-implementation phase. This involved delivering both a Sales Growth Plan and a Cost Reduction Plan specifically for the Retail business. Renoir’s deliverables were centered on the content of these plans and detailing the actions necessary to achieve the desired results.
This phase involved:
- Establishing clear Strategic Roadmaps for both the Retail and Lubricants divisions
- Formulating business cases to validate the financial viability of proposed initiatives
- Creating Management Action Teams (MATs) for both business areas to ensure internal ownership and alignment
- Conducting Steering Committee meetings regularly to review progress and build consensus
- A tight multi-week timeline was set to complete detailed proposals that would define the path forward for both divisions.
Implementation
The project was executed in two distinct phases- Phase 1 focused on foundational preparations to ensure the smooth and sustainable rollout of Phase 2, engaging all key personnel.
This initial stage included defining Strategic Roadmaps and evaluating Business Cases for both the Retail and Lubricants divisions. The findings from these critical assessments were designed to shape the company’s future strategy.
Unlike Renoir’s standard Focus Process® methodology, this project adopted a tailored approach. Instead, Management Action Teams (MATs) were formed for each business unit—Retail and Lubricants—to drive progress and maintain momentum within the tight timeline. Steering Committee Meetings were held regularly to review milestones, secure leadership buy-in and reinforce accountability for decisions and insights gained.
A heightened sense of urgency was instilled when the CEO publicly highlighted the declining performance of the Retail business, emphasising the need for swift action. The proposal demanded meticulous detail, encompassing all 28 service stations (of varying models) for Retail, while Lubricants concentrated on optimising sales channels.
For Lubricants, the MCS (Marketing and Customer Service) overhaul involved deploying Salesforce.com to streamline operations. Meanwhile, the Retail business initially relied on interconnected spreadsheets to monitor fuel movements, with plans to transition to an integrated software solution that would automate sales and marketing linkages for each station.
Results
The collaboration between Renoir and the client delivered targeted plans that revitalised both the Lubricants and Retail divisions.
In Lubricants, the focus on sales growth led to strong performance gains, supported by the successful implementation of Salesforce.com. For the struggling Retail division, Renoir’s strategic roadmap helped reverse years of margin decline and repositioned the business for profitability—averting potential exit considerations.
A key outcome was the overhaul of Management Control Systems. Lubricants gained improved sales tracking, while Retail moved from fragmented spreadsheets to a blueprint for integrated software, enabling better alignment between operations, sales, and marketing.
*We have intentionally omitted client-specific details to maintain strict confidentiality.  
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