s & p 500 component industry retail hoover s. retrieved on december 4 2011 . founded july 4 1979 ; 37 years ago 1979 07 04 as auto shack forrest city arkansas u.s. headquarters memphis tennessee u.s. number of locations 5 006 1 in the united states mexico brazil . key people pitt hyde founder william c. rhodes chairman president and ceo william t. giles cfo products automotive parts and accessories revenue us 9.14753 billion 2013 2 us 8.603863 billion 2012 2 operating income us 1.773098 billion 2013 2 us 1.628891 billion 2012 2 net income us 1.01648 billion 2013 2 us 930.373 million 2012 2 total assets us 6.892089 billion 2013 3 us 6.265639 billion 2012 2 total equity us 1.687319 billion 2013 3 us 1.548025 billion 2012 2 number of employees 70 000 august 2012 4 website www.autozone.com autozone headquarters autozone store in hillsborough north carolina . auto zone store sign in phoenix arizona autozone is an american zone and is the second largest retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories in the united states behind advance auto parts 4 founded in 1979 autozone has over 5 006 stores across the united states mexico and brazil . the company is based in memphis tennessee . 4 contents 1 history 1.1 1970s 1.2 1980s 1.3 1990s 1.4 2000s 1.5 2010s 2 corporate affairs 2.1 headquarters 3 private labels 4 retail stores 5 sponsorships 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit 1970s edit originally a division of memphis based wholesale grocer malone & hyde the company was known as auto shack . after the sale of the grocery operation to the fleming companies of oklahoma city oklahoma the name of the company was changed to autozone to reflect the new focus and to settle a lawsuit brought by tandy corporation for infringing on tandy s radio shack trademark . 5 on july 4 1979 the first store opened in forrest city arkansas 6 under the name of auto shack . 7 doc crain was the store s first manager . sales that first day totaled 300.00 . 1980s edit in 1981 express parts or vdp is implemented to get the customers hard to find parts by special ordering them through wholesalers . total stores was 73 in 7 states . in 1984 the company became the first auto parts retailer to create a quality control program for its parts . total stores was 194 in 13 states . in 1985 doc crain coined the term wittdtjr which stands for what it takes to do the job right . total store count is 263 in 14 states . by 1986 expansion had made the company grow into a large store chain across the south and the midwest . that year darren reltherford manager of auto shack s memphis tennessee store received the first extra miler award which has since been given to autozoners who show their dedication to customer satisfaction by going the extra mile for customer service . the duralast line of alternators and starters is released . the loan a tool program begins allowing customers the ability to borrow specific tools for jobs . the 4th distribution center in greenville south carolina opens . total of stores is 339 in 15 states . in 1988 auto shack officially changed its name to autozone . 7 the first autozone store was in enid oklahoma . that year also the company introduced witt jr an electronic catalog used to look up parts and keep warranty information . total of stores is now 459 in 16 states . in 1989 the company began using a computerized store management system sms . the duralast battery line is released consisting of sub zero desert and long life . total of stores is 513 in 17 states . 1990s edit in 1991 its stock began trading on the new york stock exchange using the ticker symbol azo . 7 it opened up at 27.50 a share . it was then valued at 1 billion . the 5th dc opens in lafayette louisiana . the company also became the first auto parts retailer to register customer warranties in a computer database . in 1994 autozone began using satellites to facilitate communication between stores and the corporate office . sales hit 1.5 billion . in 1995 autozone opened its 1 000th store in louisville kentucky . also the duralast trademark made its debut with the duralast and duralast gold batteries . total of stores is now 1 143 in 26 states . 8 1996 was the year when the internet era arrived at the company when autozone opened its company web site . the new commercial program debuted in germantown tennessee . alldata a software company that provides automotive diagnostic and repair information was acquired . 9 pitt hyde retired as chairman and ceo in 1997 . 7 john adams became the new chairman and ceo . in 1998 10 11 autozone acquired 112 auto palace stores in six states in the northeastern united states 12 13 43 truckpro l.p. stores in 14 states and 560 chief auto parts inc. stores in 5 states . 14 15 at the commencement of fiscal 1999 autozone made another acquisition by purchasing 100 express stores from the pep boys manny moe & jack . 16 the company began a process of internationalization with their first store abroad which opened in nuevo laredo mexico . 17 autozone closed the 1990s by debuting at the fortune 500 list in 1999 . 2000s edit steve odland became autozone s third ceo in 2001 . 18 autozone s vision and values are released . vision relentlessly creating the most exciting zone for vehicle solutions 19 autozone s value statements integrity respect teamwork communication innovation initiative accountability thriftiness leadership excellence . also in 2001 autozone sold truckpro to paratus capital management . 20 in 2002 autozoners developed a network of hub feeder and satellite stores to have more product in the market area while reducing inventory investment . sales hit 5.33 billion . 21 in 2003 the duralast tool line was introduced . this was a year of important negotiations for autozone as the company partnered with other important auto parts industry companies such as carmax and midas . autozone de mexico opens the first dc in nuevo laredo mexico . total stores number 3 219 in 48 states and 49 in mexico . 22 in 2005 william c. rhodes iii was named president and ceo . steve odland left to become the chairman and ceo of office depot . 23 in 2007 bill rhodes then 42 was named chairman president and chief executive officer of autozone inc. on june 6 . 24 in 2008 autozone opened their 4 000th store in houston texas . sales hit 6.2 billion . 25 26 2010s edit on august 17 2012 autozone expanded into their 49th state alaska by opening their 5 000th store in wasilla alaska in 2012 autozone opened their first store in brazil . 27 in december 2012 autozone purchased autoanything.com an ecommerce leader in aftermarket automotive parts . 27 28 on november 24 2014 an autozone store in dellwood missouri misidentified in most media reports as being in ferguson missouri was burned during violent protests . the store was said to have been looted before being set on fire . nobody was injured in the store . the company later removed all remains of the building and vacated the property . citation needed corporate affairs edit autozone is incorporated in the state of nevada . headquarters edit autozone has its headquarters in its j.r. hyde iii store support center ssc a 270 000 square feet 25 000 m2 eight story building in downtown memphis tennessee . in october 1995 the company moved into the building . 29 as of 2013 there are over 1 200 employees there . 30 the project manager of the building s construction was rob norcross a principal at lrk inc. the building has the capability to withstand a 9.0 magnitude earthquake because it has a special base isolation system that had a price tag of 950 000 . 29 private labels edit valucraft duralast and duralast gold are autozone s private label brands for lead acid automotive batteries manufactured by johnson controls east penn and other manufacturers . they also sell an agm line of batteries under the duralast platinum name . brake pad labels manufactured primarily by bosch include ranging from least to most expensive duralast oem like performance ; semi metallic or organic . duralast gold oem design and performance ; semi metallic or ceramic . duralast max superior to oem design and performance ; ceramic . valucraft and duralast gold c max pads are being phased out as of early 2015 . the valucraft duralast and duralast gold names are used on various other parts and accessories as well . retail stores edit not franchises 31 autozone s 5 600 retail outlets 6 throughout the united states puerto rico mexico and brazil stock a variety of aftermarket parts . sponsorships edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message autozone holds the naming rights to the downtown memphis baseball stadium that is the home of the memphis redbirds of the pacific coast league . the company also sponsors the autozone liberty bowl . when citation needed in 2004 autozone celebrated its 25th anniversary and announced a corporate sponsorship agreement with auto racing association nascar . in addition founder j.r. pitt hyde iii was inducted into the automotive hall of fame . pitt hyde set a precedent as the first aftermarket retailer in the automotive hall of fame . citation needed in 2007 autozone sponsored kevin harvick and timothy peters in the nascar busch series . citation needed see also edit tennessee portal cars portal companies portal advance auto parts auto parts warehouse carquest napa o reilly auto parts carid pep boys sco v. autozone references edit 2012 annual report . 14 november 2012 . retrieved 14 october 2013 . a b c d e f g h autozone inc 2013 annual report form 10 k xbrl . united states securities and exchange commission . october 28 2013 . a b autozone inc 2014 q2 quarterly report form 10 q xbrl . united states securities and exchange commission . march 25 2014 . a b c autozone inc 2012 annual report form 10 k filing date october 22 2012 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved dec 26 2012 . united states court of appeals sixth circuit a b autozone inc. autozone official site a b c d eng dinah august 12 2013 . putting autozone into drive . fortune . 168 3 17 18 . autozone form 10 k annual report filing date nov 27 1996 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 18 2013 . autozone form 10 q quarterly report filing date may 20 1996 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 18 2013 . autozone form 10 q quarterly report filing date jun 23 1998 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 18 2013 . autozone form 8 k current report filing date jul 2 1998 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 18 2013 . autozone to acquire auto palace . prnewswire . january 14 1998 . autozone continues growth with auto palace purchase . the auto channel . february 1998 . o dell john may 12 1998 . autozone to acquire car parts rival chief . los angeles times . o dell john july 1 1998 . autozone purchase of chief auto is complete . los angeles times . autozone form 10 k annual report filing date nov 25 1998 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 18 2013 . autozone form ars filing date nov 2 1998 . secdatabase.com . retrieved jan 18 2013 . autozone form 8