Connect with us. Advertise Subscribe Contact Us. By aftermarketNews Staff. Since Pep Boys was founded years ago, our focus has always been to make car care more accessible. The new Service Center above is located in Farragut, Tenn. We have made several strategic adjustments to optimize our network footprint, one of which is working with other retailers to occupy open space next to Pep Boys Service Centers.
This allows Pep Boys to focus on service and refresh its connecting service centers while providing a convenience advantage by being located close to a leading parts provider. The aftermarket is built on three foundational pillars: convenience, quality and value. As new generations of consumers come into the fold, how is the company is addressing the unique needs of younger consumers such as Gen Y and Z consumers?
Speaking of younger generations, Pep Boys is very active in working to recruit, train and retain bright young professionals in the service industry. How is Pep Boys preparing for the much-publicized shift to EVs and the unique customer needs associated with that? Pep Boys is opening dedicated electric vehicle service locations featuring the latest equipment and software and staffed by professionals trained in servicing EVs and the advanced diagnostics essential for most late-model vehicles.
In this article: Executive Interview , Pep Boys. Stay up to date with aftermarketNews. Watch the latest aftermarketNews video. Submit your company's info for the top suppliers list!
By Amy Antenora. Video Series View More Videos. Sponsored Content. When Icahn won out, Mayor Jim Kenney dispatched his Commerce Department to urge Icahn to enhance the Allegheny Avenue headquarters — and even move some of his own investment activities here from high-cost Manhattan. Icahn also sent his longtime lawyer, Daniel A. Ninivaggi, to run Icahn Automotive. Ninivaggi departed Icahn Automotive and Pep Boys. Brian Kaner, chief executive for the auto-service wing, has an office in Philadelphia but lists his home on social media as Indianapolis.
Christopher Cox, his opposite number at the parts division, works out of Georgia. The top tech officer serving both companies remains primarily based in Philadelphia.
But the chief financial, legal, workforce, and marketing officers work in places ranging from New York to Detroit. Icahn has continued restructuring its auto businesses, Icahn Enterprises chief executive Keith Cozza told investors in the October conference call. This partly offset falling oil prices on its oil-refining investments.
The year saw the inauguration of yet another change at Pep Boys that was hailed by Financial World as 'the final step in transforming the old-fashioned family-owned chain into a nationwide leader.
But just three months after he made the shift, consumer fraud inspectors in California, Florida, and New Jersey charged Sears, Roebuck and Co. The allegations specifically cited Sears' commission program as the locus of the problem.
Although chagrined at the negative publicity surrounding commissioned employees generally, Leibovitz confidently stuck with his plan, which incorporated several safeguards. The cornerstone of Pep Boys' system was an ethics policy that dictated termination of mechanics who made unnecessary repairs.
Technicians, who were certified by the Institute for Automotive Service Excellence ASE , also agreed to have their commission docked if their work had to be redone. Even with commissions, Pep Boys' service cost 20 to 50 percent less than dealerships and independent garages. Service accounted for 13 percent of the retailer's total revenue in fiscal , and income from that segment was increasing more than ten percent each year in the early s.
Sears' subsequent decision to cut back on auto service undoubtedly sent more business to Pep Boys' service bays. Leibovitz worked to allay customers' ingrained apprehension about gouging in automotive repairs by offering a toll-free 'squeal line' and postpaid comment cards addressed to the CEO. Complaints were categorized and tabulated to detect patterns of misconduct, and regional sales managers followed up each complaint with a personal contact.
According to the chief, Pep Boys received about complaints and compliments, out of about five million customers, each month. Commendations were reviewed and read on videotape for the firm's 'Customer Corner,' a video presentation played back in company break rooms across the country.
Pep Boys emerged from the early s recession with strong earnings and stock performance. Stock market observers predicted that Pep Boys' stock would increase 20 to 30 percent by the end of This expansion included the launching in of a new parts-only store format with no service bays and no tires called PartsUSA. By , there were PartsUSA stores, which were rechristened Pep Boys Express that year in an attempt to leverage the name recognition that the Pep Boys brand had gained in its plus-years of existence.
The buy-for-resale segment of the market, along with the 'do-it-for-me' segment services , was increasing in importance at the same time that the DIY sector was plateauing. Fewer people were doing their own auto repair in the mid-to-late s because cars were becoming more and more complex.
In pursuit of sales to professionals, Pep Boys began rolling out a system for delivering parts to repair shops in By the end of , about half of the company's units were offering delivery services.
At the same time, Pep Boys was pursuing increased service business by signing agreements with fleet customers, such as maintenance agreements with rental car agencies and deals to recondition used cars and make warranty repairs for used car superstores. The company sold of its Express outlets to arch-rival AutoZone, Inc. Pep Boys also closed an additional nine Express units, leaving just 12 in operation. Pep Boys also slowed down its expansion drive, growing by only 24 units in fiscal , and worked to improve the performance of the supercenters by remodeling some of the older units and making other enhancements.
At the same time, the rollout of the delivery system continued, culminating by in 88 percent of the stores participating. In Pep Boys continued the expansion of its service operations by launching a new program for buyers or sellers of used cars whereby Pep Boys would inspect a vehicle and, assuming the vehicle passed the inspection, provide a certification vouching for the vehicles' mechanical and operational soundness.
Principal Competitors: AutoZone, Inc. Toggle navigation. User Contributions:. Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: Name:. E-mail: Show my email publicly. Human Verification:. Public Comment: characters.
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