Doug Bolt, the former president of Florida Tire, Inc., is continuing on with Pep Boys following Pep’s purchase of his business for $4.35 million.
Bolt will focus on the chain’s expansion plans and its relationship with Goodyear.
“Now I look forward to working with Pep Boys to help it grow, knowing that my employees and customers are in good hands,” says Bolt, noting that “selling my company was one of the biggest decisions of my life.”
The agreement was reached in October of last year. Bolt was assisted by The March Group, which “gave me all the information and support I needed to sell it with confidence,” he reports.
“I am grateful for the wonderful support that I received from our client, Doug Bolt,” says March’s Ed Wilcox, who supervised the arrangements. He expresses gratitude for “the opportunity to work with and assist a true entrepreneur and gentleman such as Doug Bolt,” adding praise for “the professionalism and support of the buyer, Pep Boys – in particular, Joe Cirelli and his staff.”
Wilcox worked with both parties for about a year before the purchase was finalized.
Florida Tire had grown to 10 stores in throughout the Sunshine State’s central region. Its first location in Orlando was established by Bolt in 1987 after he and his family moved southward from New Jersey following the sale of a service station he owned.
Bolt built Florida Tire into an impressive operation, opening two other Orlando sites along with outlets in Apopka, Winter Park, Leesburg, Sanford, Clermont, Celebration and Eustis – carrying Goodyear and Dunlop tires plus providing a wide range of car and truck maintenance services.
“We are leading our expansion with our service business, growing through new Service & Tire Centers,” says Cirelli, Pep’s senior vice president of corporate development. “The 10-store Florida Tire chain presented the perfect opportunity to grow within a market where we have existing Supercenters that can help support these smaller, neighborhood-based Service & Tire Centers.”
The deal with Bolt “accelerated our expansion program this year, providing a model for our future growth,” according to Cirelli.
In addition to a new Supercenter, Pep Boys is set to finish opening 24 new Service & Tire Centers by the end of the company’s 2009 fiscal year, which concludes this month.
Pep plans to add another 40 locations in 2010 and 80 in 2011. It currently has some 6,000 service bays at more than 580 stores throughout 35 states and Puerto Rico.
For more information, visit www.floridatire.com, www.pepboys.com and www.marchgroup.com.
