Leading off this week, our recap of the top industry news begins with the announcement that Federal-Mogul has been named Supplier of the Year by Parts Warehouse Inc. (PWI), one of the nation’s 10 largest distributors of replacement automotive components. In addition, a Federal-Mogul sales development manager was selected as PWI Manufacturer Representative of the Year. Both awards were announced last month during the company’s business and education conference in Shreveport, La. Based in Little Rock, Ark., PWI operates 165 wholly owned Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts stores in eight states and services approximately 350 independent jobbers. The company, which is a member of Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, offers a full complement of Federal-Mogul brands and products, including ANCO wipers; Carter fuel delivery products; Champion spark plugs; Fel-Pro gaskets; MOOG steering and suspension components; National wheel hub assemblies, bearings and seals; Precision universal joints; Sealed Power engine parts; Wagner ThermoQuiet brakes; and Wagner lighting products.
In other top news from the distribution segment, Alliance Parts Warehouse (APW), the member-owned warehouse for Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance (Alliance), hosted its first-ever "Rock the House" convention, where 300 manufacturers and shareholder members met in Little Rock, Ark., to discuss APW and its capabilities. The event was held Jan. 30 through Feb. 2 with the goal of helping the buyers and sales/marketing personnel at Alliance shareholder locations understand the potential and resources available to them through APW. The festivities kicked off Sunday with an APW product fair and open house at the warehouse. Monday included a general session, presentations and another product fair, followed by an awards banquet that evening. “Rock the House” continued on Tuesday with an educational focus and wrapped up with an evening banquet.
In top manufacturing news this week, it was reported that Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has finalized its acquisition of SOPUS Products’ Car Care business, a leading automotive aftermarket consumer products portfolio, in a deal that was first announced in early December 2010. SOPUS is a subsidiary of Shell Oil Co. The division includes the appearance and performance chemical and windshield wiper blade brands of Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. (dba SOPUS Products). The sale of SOPUS Products’ Car Care business to ITW includes such well-known brands as Rain-X, Black Magic and Gumout, among others. The division had revenues of approximately $300 million in 2010.
Also this week, AutoZone reported net sales of $1.7 billion for the second quarter of 2011. Net income for the quarter increased $24.7 million, or 20 percent, over the same period last year to $148.1 million, while diluted earnings increased 35.8 percent to $3.34 per share from $2.46 per share in the year-ago quarter. AutoZone said the company’s inventory increased 7 percent over the same period last year, driven by an increase in store count and continued strategic investments in hard parts assortment.
ALLDATA, a division of AutoZone, this week announced a number of partnerships that will allow for the integration of its ALLDATA Manage 4.9 shop management software and provide additional catalog options for online electronic parts ordering. ALLDATA announced that it now integrates with WHI Solutions/Nexpart, as well as Internet AutoParts and Autoi.
