Discount Auto Parts to Commemorate Milestone With Celebration
9 November 1998
Discount Auto Parts to Commemorate Latest Milestone With Chain-Wide 500th Store Grand Opening Celebration
LAKELAND, Fla.--Nov. 9, 1998--Rapidly growing Discount Auto Parts will mark the achievement of yet another company milestone with a chain-wide 500th store grand opening celebration from Friday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Nov. 15.
"Thanks to the hard work of our team members, the achievement of major company milestones becomes ever more frequent," said Discount Auto Parts President Bill Perkins. "Our goal is to provide every community in the southeast with a conveniently located Discount Auto Parts store staffed by friendly, courteous team members dedicated to providing our customers with the right part at the right price."
Perkins said the company plans to open 100 to 110 new stores across the Southeast during the forthcoming fiscal year.
To mark the 500th store opening, the company is holding a special three-day sale on Nov. 13-15 and an in-store sweepstakes in which customers can win a Pepsi-sponsored trip to the Daytona 500, one of five Richard Petty Winston Cup Driving Experiences and one of 500 Valvoline Mark Martin collectible cars.
"Although we've come a long way since our beginning 27 years ago, Discount Auto Parts remains a collection of ordinary people working well together to achieve extraordinary results," said Perkins.
A prime example of the company's unique philosophy of developing leadership talent from within, Perkins started with Discount Auto Parts as a store clerk in 1983. "Since our founding, we've identified and nurtured managers from the ground up - and we will continue to do so."
A History of Milestones
¶ Discount Auto Parts was founded in 1971 by Herman Fontaine, a Lakeland area businessman who opened the first Discount Auto Parts store in Eloise, Fla. From the very beginning, Fontaine's philosophy revolved around the idea of building a strong employee team -- in his words, "First you build the team, then the team builds the business. There is no other way."
Steve Bair, now vice president of operations, was a part-time team member back in those earlier days. "I remember our first delivery vehicle was a Ford Pinto. Once we outgrew that, we bought and modified an old worn-out beer truck."
As the years passed, the company's emphasis on building its team started to pay dividends. Discount Auto Parts began to deliver the highest operating margins in the auto parts retailing industry and generate the highest sales per team member.
Today, Pintos and beer trucks are ancient history. Now, huge semi trucks emblazoned with the Discount Auto Parts colors and logo deliver inventory daily across the southeastern U.S from a 600,000-square-foot Distribution Center in Lakeland, Fla.
By 1986, Discount Auto Parts achieved $1 million in weekly sales. Three years later, the company opened its 100th store. Then, in August 1992, the first shares of Discount Auto Parts stock were offered on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol DAP.
After that, growth started coming in ever-larger jumps. By July 1998, weekly sales topped the $10 million mark. In September 1998, Discount Auto Parts purchased the Rose Auto Parts chain headquartered in South Florida.
Today, Discount Auto Parts clearly dominates Florida's automotive parts market.
Secrets to Success
Throughout its history, Discount Auto Parts' tremendous growth has been marked by a number of noticeable improvements. "One of the secrets to our success is that we're always committed to making ourselves better," said Perkins. "We refuse to institutionalize our mistakes."
For example, today's stores are bigger, brighter and better organized than before. "We believe our in-store merchandising programs and product displays today are second to none in the parts retail industry," said Dave Viele, vice president of purchasing.
Today, the over $500 million company is staffed by nearly 5,000 team members serving customers with 50,000 different replacement parts from more than 500 locations throughout Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida.
As to the future, Bill Perkins and his management team believe in setting still-higher goals. "Only by continuing to grow can we provide more opportunity for team members and better support the many fine communities we serve."
As one of the Southeast's leading specialty retailers, Discount Auto Parts features an extensive line of lifetime guaranteed replacement parts for domestic and import cars, as well as accessories, motor oils and other maintenance items for the "do-it-yourself" consumer. In addition, Pro2Call, the commercial delivery division of Discount Auto Parts, delivers extensive parts inventory to professional automotive parts installers.