service is our best part ... advance auto parts in cairo georgia type public traded as nyse aap industry auto parts retail founded april 29 1932 ; 84 years ago 1932 04 29 headquarters roanoke virginia u.s. number of locations 5 372 area served united states puerto rico u.s. virgin islands canada key people john c. brouillard executive chairman tom greco interim ceo & president products replacement automotive parts & accessories revenue us 9.69 billion fy 2014 operating income us 852 million fy 2014 net income us 494 million fy 2014 total assets us 7.96 billion fy 2014 total equity us 2 billion fy 2014 owner starboard value lp 1 3.7 % number of employees 74 000 january 2015 subsidiaries autopart international carquest auto parts carquest canada worldpac worldpac canada worldpac redline website advanceautoparts.com advance auto parts in east aldine unincorporated harris county texas advance auto parts in goodlettsville tennessee . advance auto parts is headquartered in roanoke virginia 1 and is now the largest retailer of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the united states 2 by store count after acquiring carquest in october 2013 . aap was founded in 1932 and had 2011 sales of approximately 6.2 billion . aap operates over 3 800 stores in forty u.s. states and has over 55 000 employees . in 2005 advance auto parts purchased autopart international inc. which operates 202 stores along the atlantic seaboard . 3 4 as of 2014 autopart international still operates as a separate division within advance auto . in 2013 aap purchased general parts inc. including carquest carquest canada and worldpac for 2.04 billion . 5 6 contents 1 history 2 recognition 3 references 4 external links history edit 2006 2010 chevrolet hhr used as the fleet vehicle of the company . in april 1932 7 arthur taubman purchased from pep boys the advance stores with two stores in roanoke virginia and one in lynchburg virginia . the first major expansion of advance auto parts was in 1998 when the company acquired the remaining operations of western auto an auto parts and general store retailer . most of the western auto operations had been taken over by sears roebuck and co. in 1987 . 8 in april 2001 advance auto parts acquired carport auto parts a regional retail chain with 29 stores in alabama and mississippi . 9 10 on november 28 advance acquired 671 discount auto parts inc. a regional auto parts chain in florida alabama georgia south carolina and louisiana . 11 12 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 . the year ended with 2 484 stores in 38 states . interior of an advance auto parts store in fairfax county virginia in july 2002 advance auto parts received bankruptcy court approval to acquire 57 trak auto stores in northern virginia washington dc and eastern maryland . 13 14 in september 2006 advance auto parts nyse aap announced an agreement with admmicro a va based company to retrofit certain existing stores and equip new stores with an energy management system ems . 15 in 2010 advance auto parts announced a deal with monster jam to become the title sponsor . the company sponsors a truck on the circuit called the advance auto parts grinder . as of the close of fy 2013 advance has chosen not to renew ties with monster jam and the feld organization . in december 2012 advance auto parts acquired bwp distributors a carquest franchise for the new england region that included the transfer of 124 company owned retail locations plus 2 distribution centers . 16 17 the responsibility for 92 independently owned location that were service by bwp were transferred to general parts inc. the largest carquest franchise along with one distribution center for servicing those locations . on october 16 2013 advance auto parts entered into a definitive agreement to acquire to general parts international inc. gpi a leading privately held distributor and supplier of original equipment and aftermarket replacement products for commercial markets operating under the carquest and worldpac brands . 5 6 the transaction has been approved by the boards of directors for both companies . the deal creates the largest automotive aftermarket parts 18 provider in north america with annual sales of more than 9.2 billion and more than 70 000 employees . general parts international with corporate headquarters in raleigh nc has seen a significant rise in personnel since being acquired by advance . 19 most of these added jobs are personnel from roanoke minnesota or between the now redundant gpi positions being transferred to raleigh . it is hopeful that the net result between these former gpi positions and the corresponding new advance positions is a gain . however as announced 8 10 2015 on the local npr radio station wunc advance auto is in the process of laying off at least 100 employees from the both home offices to eliminate duplicate positions . in 2014 advance auto parts began a loyalty program for diy customers named speedperks . by enrolling in the loyalty program the member will receive discounts off of purchases without the need of a card or point system . when a customer spends 30 in store before tax a 5 off coupon will be sent in their email for a 100 purchase before tax a 20 off coupon will be emailed to the member . on september 30 2015 starboard value lp an activist investment firm disclosed a 3.7 percent stake in advance auto parts . through a letter to chief executive darren jackson and a keynote presentation published on starboard s website starboard values believes that advance auto parts shares have the potential to reach 350 each if the company takes steps to improve profit margins . the presentation also stated that advance auto parts has substantially underperformed compared to peers on almost any measure including operating margins revenue growth and total shareholder return . 20 20 roanoke virginia based advance auto s sales have missed market expectations in four of the past six quarters . 20 starboard value lp was behind the ouster of the entire board of restaurant operator darden restaurants inc last year owners of the red lobster olive garden restaurants . 21 with the writing on the wall in november 2015 darren jackson elected to resign his position as ceo effective jan 02 2016 . 22 announced in late january early february 2016 advance s profits took a significant hit according to advance and market watchers for fy 2015 . advance auto parts inc. reported its profit plunged 35 % in the final quarter of the year according to marketwatch 23 recognition edit advance auto parts is the largest automotive aftermarket retailer in the united states based on sales and store count . the company premiered on the fortune 500 list of companies in 2003 at no. 466 and has remained on the list since that time . as of june 2014 it was ranked at no. 1 412 on the forbes magazine world s biggest public companies list . advance has received recognition for charitable contributions . the company has been named an elite partner for its fundraising for the juvenile diabetes research foundation jdrf having donated more than 42 million since 1994 . 24 advance acts as an aggregator 25 for the largest portion of the donations for jdrf collecting monies from both walk in customers and commercial business through the sale of paper sneakers that once purchased by the customer are displayed on the store windows . references edit about us history of advance auto parts . advance auto parts . retrieved february 27 2012 . aftermarket business january 2010 . retrieved 16 march 2016 . advance auto parts announces acquisition of autopart international inc. ; new store count now expected to be 220 230 stores in 2005 . business wire . september 15 2005 . advance auto parts acquires autopart international . aftermarketnews . september 15 2005 . a b snipes cameron december 16 2013 . year in review sloan sells raleigh s general parts for 2 billion . triangle business journals . a b jaisinghani sagarika october 16 2013 . advance auto expands repair shop business with 2 billion buy . reuters . advance auto parts corporate site service is our best part . advanceautoparts.com . retrieved 2016 04 18 . sears is selling its western auto supply unit . los angeles times . august 18 1998 . carport will be sold to advance auto parts . tuscaloosa news . march 16 2001 . p. b7 . advance auto parts to acquire carport auto parts stores . prnewswire . march 15 2001 . discount auto may lose 70 stores ; advance auto may close the stores as part of its merger . lakeland ledger . january 23 2002 . p. e1 . discount auto shareholders approve advance merger . tampa bay business journal . november 30 2001 . advance auto buys 55 stores . roanoke times . july 24 2002 . retrieved february 27 2012 . subscription required help . advance auto parts to acquire trak auto parts stores in washington d.c. northern virginia and eastern maryland markets press release . advance auto parts . july 23 2002 . retrieved february 27 2012 . admmicro installing energy saving system in advance auto parts stores press release . admmicro . september 13 2006 . advance auto parts announces closing of acquisition of bwp distributors . reuters . december 31 2012 . advance auto parts announces acquisition of bwp distributors . aftermarketnews . december 19 2012 . auto parts store . retrieved 16 march 2016 . wral . advance auto parts to create 600 jobs in raleigh . wral.com . retrieved 16 march 2016 . a b c reuters editorial 30 september 2015 . starboard takes stake in advance auto urges changes . reuters . retrieved 16 march 2016 . christopher boyd and lisa baertlein 10 october 2014 . darden activist ousts olive garden owner s full board . reuters . retrieved 16 march 2016 . amanda hoyle 12 november 2015 . activist investor starboard value shakes up leadership at advance auto parts ceo darren jackson to step down triangle business journal . triangle business journal . retrieved 16 march 2016 . http www.marketwatch.com story advance auto parts profit down 35 on weaker sales 2016 02 11 our corporate partners . www2.jdrf.org . jdrf . retrieved 19 june 2016 . root 6 may 2014 . aggregation . investopedia . retrieved 16 march 2016 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to advance auto parts . virginia portal companies portal cars portal advance auto parts advance auto parts mobile web site autopart international retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title advance auto parts & oldid 743005250 categories companies listed on the new york stock exchangecompanies established in 1932automotive part retailers of the united statescompanies based in roanoke virginia1932 establishments in virginiahidden categories pages containing links to subscription only contentpages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscommons category with local link same as on wikidata 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