During the late eighties and nineties, Mobil Oil Corporation started to introduce Total Quality Management and developed strategy teams to better educate their dealer organization on the importance of providing quality products and services. Other topics that were covered included image enhancement and ways in which to increase profitability, setting them apart from their competitors. Charles Khalil, a veteran Mobil dealer of twenty years, owned and operated three Mobil locations on the Westside of Los Angeles at that time and took it upon himself to both participate and to instruct his peers, setting an example and personifying the best qualities sought for Mobil Franchisee Dealers.

In 1992, Charles found that there was an additional need for dealers to come together, showing a united front in order to maximize the financial health of their individual businesses. After consulting with his fellow dealers across California and Arizona, Charles approached Mobil Oil Corporation, communicating his plan to form a company working strictly with the vendor community in order to secure additional revenue. Charles was given the green light by Mobil Management, pledging their support for the difficult venture he was about to embark upon.

In May of 1992,United Buyers, Inc. was formed and the concept was launched. The mission was to make Mobil Dealers the most profitable of their kind in the industry. This unique concept initially met with some resistance from the vendor community and the dealer organization. However, Charles was determined to succeed, and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer, believing that this would be a win-win solution for Mobil dealer convenience store owners and the vendor community at large. Within eighteen months, United Buyers had managed to secure three hundred members, and had gained wide acceptance and respect. As the company’s CEO, Charles was particularly proud of what he had managed to achieve in such a relatively short space of time. In late 1994, Charles was approached at the National Mobil Convention by Sam Odeh, a young man from Chicago, who had been developing a similar concept in the Mid West. He had also formed a partnership to service the Eastern region of the United States.

Charles and Sam agreed to merge their companies, creating the largest independent organization of this type in the nation. The company name was changed from United Buyers to Power Buying Dealers, Western region, Inc. Today, PBD West services Arizona, California, Louisiana, Nevada and Texas with 865 members and expansion plans to exceed fifteen hundred members within the next two years.

The partnership between the three regions has resulted in very lucrative national and regional convenience store programs that benefit both the dealer organization and the vendor community. PBD West continues to push forward with their plan of zero tolerance policy and a streamlined privilege membership.