NEXUS Automotive International has underlined its strong presence in the U.S. by joining the two most important aftermarket gatherings in North America – the AWDA annual Business and Education Conference and AAPEX 2019.
NEXUS said it further reinforced its commitment to the region by holding its board of directors’ meeting in the Nevada resort city. Held consecutively between Nov. 2-7 in Las Vegas, the AWDA Conference and the AAPEX show collectively bring together leading manufacturers, distributors and suppliers from around the world.
The two shows provided the perfect opportunity for NEXUS’s U.S. team, composed of Bas Donders, N! director business development North America, and Fernando Passos, N! North America suppliers coordinator, to introduce N! North America’s newest member, Advance Auto Parts, to N! Suppliers.
Advance is one of the biggest automotive aftermarket parts providers in North America, with a total of 70,000 employees, serving both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers. It operates 4,780 Advance-branded branches and 1,231 independently owned Carquest stores across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, Mexico, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, the British Virgin Islands and Pacific Islands.
Bas Donders said, “To fulfil our role as an accelerator for the N! community it is essential the NEXUS leadership is close to the field and fully aware of the major growth dynamics around the world. With our improved presence in U.S. and the support we are providing for local associations we are already becoming part of the country’s aftermarket establishment.”
N! Chief Executive Gael Escribe added, “Holding our first board of directors meeting in the U.S. is more than just a symbol. It is a tangible sign of our support to our U.S. partner N! North America and its five members (Advance, The Network, APA, VIPAR and CDO Mexico) and provides the opportunity to further explore tremendous new supplier opportunities and N! projects adaptations to the U.S. market.”
NEXUS has just established a new Supplier Management Hub for North America, based in Chicago, which will be managed by Fernando Passos, currently N! business development director for the Latin American region.
It is part of a strategic move to increase and strengthen supplier relationships around the world, moving from a central supplier approach to a decentralized one, in order to bring N! even closer to its supplier base and be even better positioned to help them and its members grow their businesses.
Escribe added, “We are delighted that Advance Auto Parts has chosen to join the regional N! organization. Advance is a powerful player in the U.S. aftermarket and a well-respected brand; it is a welcome addition to the progressive group of entrepreneurs that make up N! North America.”
