• Detroit Free Press, Wednesday, July 7, 2010 10:41 AM

BP gas stations that are not bound by restrictive contracts are rushing to switch brands, Katherine Yung reports, as consumers boycott the company responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Abdel Berry, who owns three BP stations, has already converted his Ypsilanti, Mich., and Detroit stores to the Sunoco brand. "It's either change or go out of business," he tells Yung.

Other stations owners, who are under multiyear contracts that force them to stick with BP, are feeling consumers' ire even though they are independently owned. Fren Asmar, who lowered gas prices at his station in Detroit to lure customers, says business is still off 35% to 40%. "We're trying to find a way to break our contract due to BP's negligence," he says.

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