National car parts chain Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores as it attempts to turn around recent losses in its business.
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The North Carolina-based company is closing more than 523 stores across the U.S. and ditching 204 independent locations, as well as four distribution centers, The Associated Press reports.
Advance Auto Parts expects to complete the closures by the middle of next year. The company didn't disclose which locations or how many employees would be affected.
“We made the decision to close certain nonperforming, nonstrategic stores in the U.S. to better position our asset base for long-term, sustainable growth,” Shane O’Kelly, who has been the company’s president and CEO since last August, said Thursday on an earnings call.
The company’s plans include opening new stores, despite shuttering hundreds, as well as creating a widespread standard operating model for its centers.
Advance Auto Parts has also started a supply chain consolidation process, with plans to convert some stores and distribution centers into “market hubs,” the AP reported. The company has opened 18 so far and plans to open 60 by mid-2027, executives said on the earnings call.
Advance Auto Parts finished the quarter with around $500M cash on hand, Chief Financial Officer Ryan Grimsland said. But it posted a $6M loss at the end of Q3 and lowered its full-year revenue outlook for the second straight quarter.
The company sold wholesale parts distribution business Worldpac to private equity giant Carlyle Group for $1.5B earlier this year, following pressure from activist investors, Reuters previously reported. The sale added around $1.2B of “incremental cash” to support Advance Auto Parts’ strategic plans, Grimsland said.
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