One of the largest deals in the industry in years closed Jan. 2, 2014, when Advance Auto Parts completed the acquisition of General Parts International (GPI).
The deal catapulted Advance to the No. 1 spot in the Aftermarket Business World Top 25 Auto Chain Report with 5,297 company owned stores, 105 WORLDPAC branches and approximately 1,400 independently owned CARQUEST branded stores. AutoZone, which had occupied the No. 1 spot the last few years, was a close second with 5,210 company-owned stores.
Some industry observers said Advance’s acquisition of GPI was the most earthshaking industry deal since CARQUEST acquired WORLDPAC. The deal will increase Advance’s commercial sales from 38 percent of total revenue in last year’s Top 25 report to 55 percent this year.
Other notable changes this year saw Uni-Select drop from 450 company-owned stores to 412 as it goes through a U.S. restructuring in which it is closing 48 stores. Despite the reduction, the company moved from No. 7 last year to No. 6 this year due to the acquisition of GPI.
Brooks Auto Parts dropped from No. 15 last year to a three-way tie for No. 24 this year as is sold 21 of its 47 stores to Genuine Parts Co. in November 2013.
Click on Top 25 Auto Chain to see the entire report. The report was conducted by Aftermarket Business World via email and phone.
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