After the Automotive Service Association (ASA) announced last week that it was moving Automotive Service & Repair Week (which includes NACE, CARS and Auto Glass Week) to Oct. 11-13 in 2010, industry people posted a flurry of mostly negative comments on www.bodyshopbusiness.com. Following the response, BodyShop Business Editor Jason Stahl spoke with ASA President Ron Pyle about the decision to separate Automotive Service and Repair Week from Industry Week in Las Vegas. In the interview, Pyle addresses the concerns of some critics of the move who complained of expense and travel burdens. This was the most-read item on aftermarketNews this week.
Also among this week’s most-viewed stories was the announcement that Auto7 Inc. has launched the industry’s most comprehensive catalog for Korean-made vehicles. Auto 7, a supplier of original equipment parts for Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo vehicles throughout North America, has partnered with catalog production company Vertical Development Inc. to make the company’s new catalog available online at VDI-powered www.ShowMeTheParts.com. The new catalog has more than 42,000 application listings across 14 product categories, including for Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo vehicles, as well as the GM-Daewoo manufactured Chevy Aveo. The catalog at ShowMeTheParts.com is also accessible through Auto 7’s Web site at www.auto7inc.com under the "Catalog" tab at the top of the page.
With a 7.5 percent increase in net sales for the quarter, AutoZone has reported net sales of $1.6 billion for its first quarter (12 weeks) ended Nov. 21. Net income for the quarter increased $11.9 million, or 9.1 percent, over the same period last year to $143.3 million. For the quarter, gross profit, as a percentage of sales, was up slightly at 50.3 percent, versus 50.1 percent last year. During the quarter, AutoZone opened 38 new stores, closed two stores, and relocated one store in the U.S. and opened 5 stores in Mexico.
Pep Boys this week also released its quarterly results. Sales for the 13 weeks increased by $8.4 million, or 1.8 percent, to $472.6 million from $464.2 million for the thirteen weeks ended Nov. 1, 2008. Net Earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 increased to $2.1 million (4 cents per share) from the $7.3 million loss (14 cents per share) recorded in the same period last year. The 2009 results include, on pre-tax basis, a net charge of $0.3 million, consisting of a $3.3 million asset impairment charge offset by a $1.3 million gain from sale leaseback transactions, a $1 million reduction in inventory-related accruals and a $0.7 million gain from an insurance settlement.
Wrapping up our recap of the week’s most popular news comes confirmation from Standard Motor Products (SMP) that the sale of its European distribution business will have no effect on the sales and marketing efforts of the newly introduced Intermotor brand. SMP will retain exclusive distribution rights of Intermotor in North, Central and South America. Since the introduction of Intermotor in the United States in June 2009, the response to the brand has been overwhelmingly positive, says SMP. SMP has positioned Intermotor as a broad engine management line that includes ignition and electrical, relays, switches and sensors with a concentration on high technology categories such as computerized engine controls, fuel injection and emission controls.
