An automotive part retailer is a retail business that sells automotive parts and related accessories to both consumers and professional repair shops, through physical stores and websites. [1] Some automotive parts retailers also offer customer support and services related to automotive maintenance and repair. [2]
The sector is often dependent on consumers' disposable income, and therefore affected by business cycles and economic conditions. [3]
The automotive parts industry in the United States began with the proliferation of automobiles as a common method of transportation. As the industry grew, small businesses came to be replaced by chains and retail networks. [4] General Motors was the first company in the industry to begin franchising in 1893. In 1909, Western Auto became the first retailer of aftermarket automotive parts in the United States. [5] In 1928, Genuine Parts Company as a distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and consumer supplies. Its largest component is NAPA Auto Parts. [6]
By the 1970s, large companies like Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone and O'Reilly Auto Parts dominated the market. Most of these also offered private label automotive products, which accounted over 50% of revenue in some cases. [4]
Demand for automotive parts correlates with the average age of vehicles on the road, and the price of fuel. [1] [7] [8] When newer cars are more expensive or there are supply chain issues, consumers are more likely to keep and repair their existing cars, or purchase older used cars that require more regular repairs. [1] The average age of vehicles in the United States increased from the 6.5 years in 1980, to 8.5 years in 2000. [5]
Demand for auto parts can be affected by how much consumers travel for work, education and travel. During the COVID-19 pandemic, sales dropped rapidly, as did the stock price growth of many major US retailers during 2020. [9] The subsequent increase in road travel had the opposite effect; [1] unlike home improvement, furniture or grocery retailers, automotive parts retailers directly benefited from incremental increases in the number of consumers commuting to work or school. [9]
Major American retailers recorded high revenue, sales figures or operating margins in 2021 as a result of this trend, despite experiencing high inflation and supply chain pressures. [9] [10]
The average age of a vehicle in the US reached a record high of 12.1 years in 2021. [3] The price of gas rose sharply in 2022, causing volatility for the sector. [7]
Automotive part retailing is a $300 billion industry in the United States. [1]
O'Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, CarMax and AutoZone are major players in the industry. [3]
Other retailers include:
Canada's automotive part retailers include Amsoil, Fountain Tire, Integra Tire & Auto Centres, Canadian Tire (and their subsidiary PartSource) and Tirecraft.
Halfords is a major retailer in the United Kingdom, and owns National Tyres and Autocare and Ripspeed.
Demon Tweeks also operates in the UK market.
Several retailers operate in multiple European countries, including Euro Car Parts, Motrio, Nipparts, Autodoc and Oscaro. The Asian retailer Autobacs Seven also has stores in France.
Repco and Supercheap Auto are major rivals in the Australian and New Zealand markets, targeting both consumers and trade customers. [11]
Autobarn is a smaller competitor, but outranked the major rivals for consumer satisfaction in Australia in 2018. [12]
Ultra Tune also has stores around Australia. [13]
Autobacs Seven operates in Asia, and also has stores in France.
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire, Mark's, FGL Sports, PartSource, and the Canadian operations of Party City. Canadian Tire acquired the Norwegian clothing and textile company Helly Hansen from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in 2018.
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary parts market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, equipment, and accessories, after the sale of the automobile by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to the consumer. The parts, accessories, etc. for sale may or may not be manufactured by the OEM.
AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has 7,140 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and the US Virgin Islands. The company is based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Pep Boys is an American automotive aftermarket service chain. Originally named Pep Auto Supply, the company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921 by Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Maurice "Moe" Strauss, W. Graham "Jack" Jackson, and Moe Radavitz. Pep Boys is headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty on new items. The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Extended warranties cost extra and for a percentage of the item's retail price. Some extended warranties that are purchased for multiple years state in writing that during the first year, the consumer must still deal with the manufacturer in the occurrence of malfunction. Thus, what is often promoted as a five-year extended guarantee, for example, is actually only a four-year guarantee.
Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories operating approximately 1,200 stores across the United States.
The National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA), also known as NAPA Auto Parts, founded in 1925, is an American retailers' cooperative distributing automotive replacement parts, accessories and service items throughout North America.
A big-box store, a hyperstore, a supercenter, a superstore, or a megastore is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The term "big-box" references the typical appearance of buildings occupied by such stores.
A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintenance services.
CSK Auto, Inc. was a specialty retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the western United States. CSK Auto became a publicly traded company in March 1998, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. It was acquired in 2008 by O'Reilly Automotive.
Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington, in 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drugstore chain in Washington and was the owner of several Washington-based retailers, including Lamonts and Ernst. A 1984 sale of the company to The Trump Group and a 1986 attempt to transform the retailer into a bargain-basement merchandiser resulted in a loss of nearly $50 million. By 1988, Pay 'n Save was sold to Thrifty Corporation, who later sold the stores to PayLess Drug, who retired the Pay 'n Save name. As a result, most of the retailer's divisions were spun off as separate companies or shuttered. As of 2023, Pay 'n Save's membership discount chain, Bi-Mart, is the sole surviving division of the company.
Supercheap Auto is an Australian automotive parts and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1972, operating as a mail-order business and opened its first store in Brisbane in 1974. It now has 300 stores across Australia and New Zealand.
Autobacs Seven Co., Ltd. is a retailer of automotive parts and accessories based in Japan, with branches primarily in Asia and stores also located in France.
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., doing business as O’Reilly Auto Parts, is an American auto parts retailer that provides automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers. Founded in 1957 by the O’Reilly family, the company operates more than 6,000 stores in 48 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, multi-level marketing companies and vendors.
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is an American automotive aftermarket parts provider. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, it serves professional installer and do it yourself (DIY) customers. As of December 2023, Advance operated 4,935 stores and 321 Worldpac branches in the United States and Canada. The company also serves 1,245 independently owned Carquest-branded stores in the U.S., Mexico, The Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, and British Virgin Islands.
Monro, Inc. is an automotive services company founded and headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S. As of 2021, Monro has 1,288 locations making them the second-largest automotive services company in North America after Driven Brands by number of locations and by revenue.
The Reinalt-Thomas Corporation, doing business as Discount Tire and America's Tire, is an American tire and wheel retailer. It operates in 38 of the lower 48 states, and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1960, it is considered the largest independent retailer of tires and wheels in the world.
Bomgaars Supply Inc. is a retail chain of farm and ranch supply stores headquartered in Sioux City, Iowa. Bomgaars serves the Midwest, High Plains, and Rockies with stores in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and Texas. It is operated by the Bomgaars family.
Retailing in New Zealand is an important sector in the economy of New Zealand, as a channel for a large proportion of household spending and international visitor spending.