Wrenchead.com Investment Now Exceeds $120 MM
29 February 2000
Wrenchead.com Investment Now Exceeds $120 MM: E-Commerce Auto Parts Leader Secures New $42.5 MM Funding
Goldman Sachs, WIT Capital, PaineWebber and SFX Entertainment
Join Polaris Venture Partners and CBS as Investors
Wrenchead.com Launches Major B2B E-Commerce Initiative
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Feb. 29 -- Wrenchead.com, a leader in the
automotive aftermarket e-commerce market, has received an additional
$42.5 million in investment capital from a group of top financial investors.
Leading this second round of financing, according to Gus Conrades, CEO of
Wrenchead.com, is Goldman Sachs with initial investor Polaris Venture
Partners, WIT Capital, PaineWebber and SFX Entertainment. Funding to date now
exceeds $120 million, allowing Wrenchead.com to further strengthen its
e-commerce and brand awareness leadership position in the multi-billion dollar
automotive aftermarket industry.
"Wrenchead.com was created with the goal of building a powerful brand name
in the automotive aftermarket by providing compelling offerings to each of the
three market segments that comprise the $220BB industry -- services, wholesale
and retail," said Conrades. "This financial vote of confidence from our key
investors only confirms that we are on target to achieve our goals and are
rapidly becoming a dominant player in this business. We have aggressively
built our brand awareness with the success of our Business-to-Customer Web
site (http://www.wrenchead.com) and, now, with this additional investment of
$42.5 million, we're poised for aggressive, strategic growth in
Business-to-Business."
"We are impressed by the innovative e-commerce solution Wrenchead has
created for wholesale distributors and service repair shops. The aftermarket
opportunity is enormous and Wrenchead is uniquely positioned to impact the
industry in a positive way," said Stuart Katz, Principal Investment Area,
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
"Wrenchead.com continues to strengthen its leadership position in the
multi-billion dollar automotive aftermarket business. They have surpassed all
of our expectations with their rapid and successfully executed
business-to-consumer expansion, putting them distinctly ahead of the pack in a
highly competitive marketplace. Their business-to-business strategy combines
the best of technology solutions with brick and mortar needs. This is
obviously a company that we are proud to be associated with," said Terry
McGuire, a partner with Polaris Venture Partners.
Wrenchead.com, Profit Pro & CompUSA PC Form B2B Alliance
Wrenchead.com recently announced it had completed agreements with Profit
Pro, Inc., a major provider of technology for the automotive aftermarket, and
CompUSA PC, the manufacturing division of the nation's largest Computer
Superstore retailer, to implement an improved system of auto-parts access for
professional service dealers, regional and local parts suppliers and retailers
across America. Profit Pro will provide business software and electronic
parts cataloging technology and CompUSA PC will offer hardware, training,
support and warranty service.
Wrenchead.com is positioned to be the leading provider of e-commerce tools
for both Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business for the automotive
aftermarket. The partnership will provide turnkey solutions for service
dealers, to quickly and efficiently find parts, place orders and manage their
operations, with a resultant increase in shop productivity and a boost in
profits. Wholesalers will benefit from reduced transaction costs and access
to thousands of new customers across the country.
"It is our intent to become the industry's standard e-commerce company,"
says Bryan Murphy, Chief Operating Officer of Wrenchead.com. "Using
Wrenchead's e-commerce Technology, we will enable service dealers, warehouse
distributors and retailers to gain significant and sustainable cost savings
and drive revenue growth. We view our relationship with Profit Pro and
CompUSA PC as a key step in achieving our business goals."
"From Profit Pro's standpoint, Wrenchead represents a powerful marketing
force for our products," says Profit Pro's President Brad Duncan. "Our
electronic parts catalog has been an integral part of their consumer site
since they launched last year. Given our strong relationship, it makes sense
to combine our expertise in the commercial side of the business with their
marketing strength. Add to that CompUSA's national presence for training,
support and delivery, and you can see we have a strong channel for delivering
electronic commerce tools to the automotive aftermarket."
"We have been working with Profit Pro for several months and are impressed
with their knowledge about the automotive industry and with their products,"
says Rob Howe, President of, CompUSA PC. "We believe that the relationship
with Profit Pro and Wrenchead.com will help the automotive industry greatly by
automating the installer quickly and affordably. We look forward to being a
part of that change."
Wrenchead.com is a leading provider of e-commerce tools for both
Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business for the automotive aftermarket.
Wrenchead.com sells more than 1.5 million brand name auto and truck parts,
accessories, performance products, and consumer merchandise. Wrenchead.com
(http://www.wrenchead.com), services "do it yourselfers" and professional
mechanics with installation, maintenance and repair expertise. Lead investors
include Polaris Venture Partners, SFX Entertainment and CBS. The company is
headquartered in White Plains, New York.
Polaris Venture Partners is a group of experienced early-stage investors
with a history of backing extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs in
developing Internet, Networking, Information Technology and Life Science
companies. With over $1 billion under management, Polaris provides deep
domain experience, industry contacts, and partnership to technology
entrepreneurs. Polaris-backed companies include: Akamai Technologies;
Allaire; Centra Software; Classifieds2000; Exchange.com; Worldstream
Communications; deCODE Genetics; Malibu Networks; and Kestrel Solutions.
Polaris Venture Partners has offices in Boston, Seattle and Austin.
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking and securities firm,
providing a full range of investing, advisory, and financing services
worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base, which includes
corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth
individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment
banking firms. The Firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices
in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers
around the world.
Profit Pro Inc., a privately-held company founded in 1991, is a leading
supplier of point-of-sale software and technology to the automotive
aftermarket. Profit Pro provides Internet solutions and business management
software. In addition, Profit Pro offers the industry's only true
AAIA-compatible Electronic Parts Catalog with more than 10,000 installations
nationwide.
CompUSA PC, Inc., is the manufacturing division of America's Largest
Computer Superstore retailer, the nation's leading retailer and reseller of
personal computer-related products and services. Founded in 1984, CompUSA now
operates approximately 200 Superstores in 84 major metropolitan markets.