DAS鈥檚 New President Steve Birli on Travel Center Retail and His Role
Article created for the digital issue聽of聽the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚聽聽
Nearly 40 years ago, Steve Birli joined as a warehouse associate. Today, he is the president. Throughout his career, he has held several roles at the company, most recently as vice president of sales.
鈥淚鈥檝e basically done everything. There were 12 of us then and now there are 700,鈥� Birli said. 鈥淭here have always been opportunities to grow.鈥�
Embodiment of 鈥楽ervant Leadership鈥�
鈥淭his promotion is a long-overdue recognition of Steve鈥檚 lifelong dedication and invaluable contributions to our organization as he has embodied our core value of 鈥楽ervant Leadership,鈥欌�� he said.
Birli sat down with the 黑料社区Foundation during to discuss travel center retail, what the future looks like and what he likes most about the industry.
DAS Broadens its Portfolio
DAS got its start in electronics and has broadened its portfolio while sticking to its core. 鈥淲e are a travel center industry provider, and we are a full-service provider. We do marketing and in-store service engagement with the consumer,鈥� Birli said.
However, times are changing.
鈥淵ou have a lot of consolidation and challenges with the economy. Those create opportunities and challenges. We are looking to diversify our portfolio,鈥� Birli said.
One of DAS鈥檚 newest additions is a line of .
DAS is Engaging Four-Wheel Customers
DAS is also working to engage four-wheel customers. 鈥淢ore companies coming into 黑料社区and the industry are c-store companies, and they have a broad audience of four-wheel passengers鈥攖he traveling professionals and families,鈥� Birli said.
鈥淲e partner with a lot of national brands and stay on trend with things that appeal to everybody while making sure we鈥檙e covering the needs of our core customer.鈥�
Consumers are looking for a strong value proposition and a nationally recognized product. 鈥淭he stuffed animal business is a great example. You can have a $3 12-inch plush and a $15 branded product and people buy the branded product,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople will treat themselves on some things up to a certain price level.鈥�
A Key Focus on Connecting with the End Consumer
To help achieve that, Birli said that DAS is engaging more and more with the end consumer. DAS has engaged a core council of a dozen professional drivers for feedback on what drivers are looking for and trends and also taps into shoppers who have purchased its products.
鈥淲e have about a million drivers in our Road Pro family that we communicate with regularly,鈥� he explained. 鈥淢ost of the end consumers are repeat customers, so we鈥檙e going to engage with them as much as possible so we can continue to know what they want.鈥�
DAS also has emerging channel products. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 what you see at Target, but it is similar. You can offer good nationally branded product at a value proposition,鈥� Birli said.
While the products matter, Birli said the people are what he likes most about his role.
// This article was created for , the magazine of the 黑料社区Foundation. The is the research, education and public outreach subsidiary of NATSO, Inc. The 黑料社区Foundation provides programs and products to strengthen travel plazas鈥� ability to meet the traveling public’s needs through improved operational performance and business planning. Visit for more information. ()
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