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Pitt saw a need for a retail automotive parts store to help people with the upkeep of their vehicles so he created Auto Shack. He believed that the characteristics found in supermarkets - clean, well-organized store, accessible products and great customer service could be applied to the automotive parts business. In 1979, his vision became a reality. On July 4, 1979, Auto Shack opened its first store in Forrest City, Arkansas. Doc Crain was the first Auto Shack store manager and sales that day totaled about $300. In 1986, Auto Shack was spun off as a freestanding company of which Pitt served as Chairman and CEO. Today, Auto Shack is AutoZone - a Fortune 500 company and the leading auto parts retailer in the United States with more than $8.1 billion in annual sales. AutoZone continues to fuel growth by exploring new businesses and entering new markets. In 1996, AutoZone launched a commercial program offering credit and delivery to professional technicians. Later, with the purchase of ALLDATA, AutoZone acquired the nations leading provider of electronic automotive diagnostic and repair software. In 1998, AutoZone expanded its presence outside the U.S. borders to Mexico, opening their first AutoZone de Mexico store in December 1998. AutoZone has come a long way. Today, AutoZone serves customers in 48 states, Mexico and Puerto Rico and employs more than 65,000 employees, referred to as AutoZone's. One of the constant, core foundations to their success has been their strong culture of customer satisfaction. “All 5,200+ AutoZone stores are company-owned; we don't offer franchises.”
AutoZone's history started with the vision of one man: J.R. "Pitt" Hyde III. After receiving his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of North Carolina, he joined Malone & Hyde, Inc., a wholesale food company founded by his grandfather. Pitt initiated and developed Malone & Hyde's specialty retailing division, beginning with drug stores and expanding to include sporting goods stores and supermarkets.
AutoZone is the nation's leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories with more than 5,200 stores in the US, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Each store carries an extensive line for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans and light trucks, including new and remanufactured hard parts, maintenance items and accessories. Since opening its first store in Forrest City, Ark. on July 4, 1979, the company has joined the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AZO) and earned a spot in the Fortune 500.
Morningstar: “AutoZone has been the most efficient operator among the specialized auto parts retailers. The firm has benefited from superior scale and "sticky" customers who rely on the retailer when purchasing maintenance and failure auto parts. Due to the necessity of auto parts transactions, demand has been consistent throughout numerous economic cycles, allowing AutoZone to generate steady ROICs well above 20% for the majority of the last decade. We believe AutoZone's scale and valuable private-label brands, combined with the firm's industry-leading position in the attractive DIY auto parts retail market, create a narrow economic moat that should allow the company to generate excess economic returns over the foreseeable future.”
AutoZone 2nd Quarter Same Store Sales Increase 4.3%; EPS Increases 17.8% to $5.63 MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) today reported net sales of $2.0 billion for its second quarter (12 weeks) ended February 15, 2014, an increase of 7.3% from the second quarter of fiscal 2013 (12 weeks). Domestic same store sales, or sales for stores open at least one year, increased 4.3% for the quarter. During the quarter ended February 15, 2014, AutoZone opened 28 new stores in the U.S., and four new stores in Mexico. As of February 15, 2014, the Company had 4,871 stores in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S., 367 stores in Mexico, and four stores in Brazil for a total count of 5,242.
As of 2013, the city's population was 509,000 making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California and the 34th largest in the nation. Fresno is in the center of the San Joaquin Valley and is the largest city in the Central Valley, which contains the San Joaquin Valley. It is approximately 200 miles north of Los Angeles, and 170 miles south of the state capital, Sacramento. Metropolitan Fresno has a population of 1,107,416.