Pep Boys and Johnson Controls Focus On Category Management
PHILADELPHIA--Aug. 13, 2001--Pep Boys , the nation's leading full service automotive aftermarket retail and service chain, and its exclusive battery supplier, Johnson Controls , are focusing on the use of category management to coordinate Pep Boys' product line offering and give customers a hassle-free experience when buying batteries.
To ensure success, Pep Boys and Johnson Controls are making sure every aspect of their battery supply chain -- from inventory control to sales data to shipping and receiving -- is streamlined and efficient, so that customers can find exactly what they're looking for, no matter what size or use of battery is needed. That size/purpose duality is an integral part of this unique approach to the category, underscoring the companies' belief that customers should not be forced to go to multiple stores to find the right battery.
"Consumers want the right parts for the right price, without having to go to five different locations to do so," said Don Kolmodin, Pep Boys' assistant vice president of merchandising. "This new approach we're taking at Pep Boys is to provide our customers with high-quality parts, while giving them the freedom to get on with their busy lives."
As the exclusive battery supplier to Pep Boys, Johnson Controls provides its entire line of automotive, marine and utility batteries -- specifically the Optima and Energizer brands, as well as Pep Boys' nationally-known private label ProStart brand -- to the company's 629 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. That means that customers can find dependable automobile, motorcycle, boat, watercraft and lawn & garden batteries in one location, leading to increased sales for both companies.
"Focusing our energies on what matters to the consumer is what has driven this entire category restructuring and management process," said Bill Nonnamaker, Johnson Controls vice president of national accounts, sales and marketing. "Johnson Controls now has the unique capability of providing its customers with category management methods along with high quality products and exceptional service."