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| General
Information | History | Public Involvement | Real
Estate | Celebrating 75 Years |
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In
1932, Arthur Taubman purchased a small chain
of home and auto supply
stores in Roanoke, Virginia and one in Lynchburg,
Virginia. Advance Stores carried a wide variety
of merchandise, including appliances, TV sets,
toys and bicycles, and operated under Arthur
Taubman’s strict four-point philosophy. |
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Arthur Taubman's Four-Point Philosophy |
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Under the leadership of Nick Taubman, son of Arthur Taubman during the 1970's,
the Company modernized the name of its stores
to Advance Auto. The newly renamed chain of
stores eliminated home appliances and several
other products and concentrated increasingly
on its core automotive parts business.
The 1980's began a rapid,
yet carefully planned, expansion. As part of
this expansion, Advance Auto began to sharpen
its marketing focus on automotive hard parts
for "do-it-yourselfers." In order
to meet the needs of these customers, the Company
introduced its new PDQ®, Parts Delivered Quickly,
system in 1982. This innovative service allowed
customers access to more than 25,000 automotive
components (in excess of 100,000 today), within
a 24-hour period.
In 1985, to emphasize the
PDQ system and the Company's dedication
to automotive hard parts, Advance Auto’s
name evolved into Advance Auto Parts. |
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In the 1990's, the
Company continued its rapid growth, opening
stores in several new states
and constructing new distribution centers. At
the close of 1993, Advance Auto Parts had more
than doubled in size since it first began its
expansion plan, ending the year with a total of 352 stores.
In March 1994, Advance Auto Parts founder Arthur
Taubman passed away, leaving behind a legacy in
a company that had established a presence in eight
states and employed more than 5,000 people.
Nick Taubman, who had served as President since 1969 and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 1985, continued to lead Advance until his retirement in 1997. In 1997, former President Garnett E. Smith assumed the role of CEO.
The years under Mr. Smith's leadership saw tremendous change and growth for Advance Auto Parts. In April 1998, the Taubman family sold a majority
interest in the Company to the investment firm
of Freeman Spogli. Then, in August, Advance Auto
Parts announced that Western Auto Supply Company/Parts
America, would merge with Advance. Western Auto/Parts
America, which traces its roots back to 1909,
came to the new partnership with an impressive
history in its own right. The two companies shared
almost a century of experience in the automotive
industry, and their combined power drove the Advance Auto Parts team to even further
success.
In 2000, Mr. Smith retired from his position as CEO. The Board of Directors selected Lawrence P. Castellani, an executive from Royal Ahold, a supermarket company, as the successor to Garnett Smith.
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Under Mr. Castellani's leadership, in April 2001, Advance
Auto Parts acquired Carport Auto Parts, a
regional retail chain with stores in Alabama
and Mississippi. The combination of Advance
and Carport locations established Advance
Auto Parts as the market leader in Alabama
and Mississippi. |
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In November 2001, Advance
Auto Parts acquired Discount Auto Parts, which
marked another important milestone. Discount
Auto Parts was a regional auto parts chain
with stores in Florida and several other Southeastern
states. This acquisition has strengthened
the Company's position as a market leader
in Florida, where the Company's presence
has grown from 26 stores to more than 400.
Upon completion of this merger, Advance Auto
Parts became a publicly traded company, listed
as a common stock on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol "AAP." |
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In July 2002, Advance Auto
Parts received bankruptcy court approval to
acquire up to 55 Trak Auto Parts Stores in
northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and eastern
Maryland. The acquisition gave Advance Auto
Parts opportunity to expand its presence and
serve more customers in the Washington
D.C. metropolitan area, and surrounding communities. |
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On May 15, 2003, Advance
Auto Parts announced the acquisition of Kar
Parts Auto Stores, Inc. With this new acquisition,
Advance Auto Parts solidified its position
as the market leader and now has more than 40
stores in northern and central New Jersey. |
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| In May 2005, Mr. Castellani retired as CEO and Michael N. Coppola, who had previously served as Chief Operating Officer for Advance, assumed the position of CEO.
Under Mr. Coppola's leadership, on July 26, 2005, Advance Auto Parts announced the acquisition of 19 stores operated by Lappen Auto Supply Co., Inc. The acquisition of theses stores enhances Advance's presence in the greater Boston market. |
On September 15, 2005, Advance Auto Parts acquired 61 stores throughout New England and New York from Autopart International, Inc. (AI). AI specializes in providing replacement automotive parts to commercial customers and will continue to operate as a wholly owned independent subsidiary of Advance under the AI name.
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Today, Advance Auto Parts is
the second-largest automotive aftermarket retailer
in the United
States based on sales and store count, and is a member of the Fortune 500 list of companies. Advance operates more than 3,000 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and employs more than 43,000 Team Members.
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