ASAP/J.C. Whitney Speeds Ahead by Adding to Executive Team

New CEO, CMO Join Largest Internet and Direct Marketer of Auto Parts From Dell, Bass Pro Shops

CHICAGO, Nov. 8 -- Automotive Specialty Accessories and Parts (ASAP), the nation's largest Internet and catalog retailer of aftermarket autoparts, and which includes J.C. Whitney, Stylin' Trucks and http://www.carparts.com/, today announced the addition of two experienced retail executives to the company's leadership team.

Tom West has joined ASAP as chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors, having served the last nine years in top executive roles at Dell, Inc. Jon Holmquist has joined the company as chief marketing officer of ASAP and general manager of its Stylin' Trucks business unit, from his role leading the direct business at Bass Pro Shops.

"The addition of Tom and Jon to the ASAP leadership team marks an inflection point in the nearly $100 billion aftermarket auto-parts industry and in the life of our company," said Love Goel, chairman of ASAP. "As the industry becomes multi-channel and market share shifts online, two of the world's best Internet retail marketers have left much larger companies to help ASAP drive and accelerate that trend."

"Riverside has invested in infrastructure and acquisitions to build ASAP into the only successful multi-channel retailer in autoparts," said Kristin Newhall, principal at The Riverside Company, which owns ASAP. "We believe Tom and Jon can help us grow dramatically and win disproportionate market share."

While at Dell, West was a proven e-commerce and marketing executive. He helped build http://www.dell.com/ into the world's largest e-commerce site, serving as general manager of a key business unit that tripled in size during his tenure, to more than $2 billion. He played multiple other roles there, including launching several business units and working directly with top Dell executives to formulate strategy.

"I see a number of similarities between ASAP and Dell during the early growth years of dell.com," said West. "Because of the complexity and fit issues associated with auto parts, and the large number of SKUs, ASAP is ideally suited to a direct model. For that reason, I believe we have the opportunity to build the first billion-dollar, direct-to-consumer company in our category."

At Bass Pro Shops, Holmquist drove double-digit revenue and profit growth each year for the $200 million-plus direct business. Prior to this, Holmquist was group president at Bradford Group, and Foster and Gallagher; and, as vice president of marketing at Fingerhut, helped grow that company from $250 million to $1.7 billion in sales.

"Our customers are enthusiasts, much like the customers of Bass Pro and other places where I have been," said Holmquist. "We have the largest, most sophisticated platform in the industry to connect customers to products, information and services for their cars and trucks, and I am excited about working with Tom and the leadership team of ASAP to build on that foundation."

About ASAP

Automotive Specialty Accessories and Parts (ASAP) is the holding company of two automobile aftermarket businesses, J.C. Whitney and Stylin' Trucks. Founded in 1915, J.C. Whitney markets auto parts and accessories through its Web site, catalogs and a store in LaSalle, Ill. Stylin' Trucks markets accessories for light-duty trucks, SUVs, minivans and sport compact autos through its Web site, catalogs and a store in Independence, Ohio. ASAP is owned by private equity firm The Riverside Company.

ASAP is the only auto parts retailer ranked among both the top-100 American catalog and Internet merchants (based on sales). In 2006, ASAP attracted more than 35 million visitors to its Web sites and mailed more than 30 million catalogs. More information about ASAP's business units can be found at http://www.jcwhitney.com/ and http://www.stylintrucks.com/.

The Riverside Company

The Riverside Company is the largest private equity firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market and is one of the industry's most experienced leveraged buyout investors. Riverside specializes in investing in premier companies with enterprise values of less than $150 million, and partners with strong management teams to build companies through acquisitions and value-added growth. Since 1988, the firm has invested in 170 transactions with a total enterprise value of $3.4 billion. Its current portfolio in the U.S. and Europe numbers 60, with combined annual sales of $3 billion, EBITDA of $450 million and more than 11,000 employees. Riverside offers the resources to complete acquisitions smoothly and in as little as 30 days -- thanks to its sizeable pool of capital under management (nearly $2.0 billion in nine funds), over 135 professionals in 16 offices (New York, Cleveland, Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Budapest, Munich, Prague, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Tokyo and Stockholm), and long-standing relationships with partner lenders. Seven out of nine of the firm's vintages currently produce top quartile returns for investors, which are among the world's leading pension funds, endowments, funds-of-funds, insurance companies and banks. Please visit http://www.riversidecompany.com/ and http://www.riversideeurope.com/ for more information.

About Growth Ventures Group

Growth Ventures Group (GVG) invests unparalleled operating expertise and smart capital across the retail sector. GVG principals have built and led the largest, most profitable and fastest-growing retailers across multiple categories, formats and channels. They have also served as top operating executives or advisors to leading retailers such as Macy's, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Williams-Sonoma and SUPERVALU -- delivering billions in shareholder value. More information is available at http://www.growthventuresgroup.com/.