Automatic supply retailers are planning to shutter 136 stores by the end of March amid slowing demand.
Advance Auto Parts plans to close all California locations by the end of March as the company was transformed after an operating loss of $820 million at the end of 2024.
“In 2024, we launched transformational action to reposition progress for long-term success and value creation,” President and CEO Shane O’Kelly said last month in a fourth-quarter revenue report. “We have strengthened our focus on blendboxes by selling non-core assets, closing non-strategic stores and right-sized organizations.”
The company’s board of directors approved a restructuring and asset optimization plan last year designed to improve profits and growth and streamline operations, according to the statement.
Related Stories
The company plans to close around 500 stores, around 200 independent locations and four distribution centres by mid-2025, the company reported. As of December, the company had 4,788 stores in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, the statement read.
The company’s strategic and operational plans are expected to save $150 million, of which $50 million will be reinvested.
In addition to reducing employees, the plan streamlines the company’s supply chain and moves parts closer to customers, according to the report.
In the last three months of 2024, the company garnered $2 billion in sales. This was a 0.9% decrease compared to the previous year.
Automotive suppliers are one of the newest companies to withdraw from the California market.
