Princess Auto

Princess Auto Ltd.

Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1933
Headquarters	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Key people	Harvey Tallman (founder) Larry Tallman (former CEO) Bob Tallman (owner) (former CEO) Geoff Frodsham (CEO) Harold Romanychyn (former COO)
Products	Farm, Industrial, Hobby
Number of employees	2200
Website	Official Website (English)

Princess Auto Ltd. is a Canadian retail chain specializing in farm, industrial, garage, hydraulics and surplus items. It was started in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1942, by Harvey Tallman who sold his truck and bought the business, then called Princess Auto Wrecking.

Princess Auto is a Canadian retailer with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As of July 2016, the company owns and operates 43 stores in nine provinces, an electronic fulfillment centre (EFC) and three distribution centres (DC), one DC in Winnipeg, one DC in Calgary, and the other DC and the EFC in Milton, Ontario. In 2015 a manufacturing division in Winnipeg was closed . Princess Auto also offers online sales, a National Call Centre, and mail order service .

Various items are sold under its "Powerfist" and "Pro.Point" brands. Princess Auto sells many brand name tools, however Powerfist tools tend to be lower cost tools when compared to mid price professional brands such as Pro.Point, UltraPro (NAPA), Craftsman (Sears), or Westward.

Shur-Lift Industries, formerly known as Princess Auto Manufacturing (PAM), builds hydraulic cylinders, under the Shur-Lift brand, and assembles items such as air compressors, chemical sprayers, and log splitters that are distributed and sold through its retail locations. The manufacturing division also made products for some original equipment manufacturers (OEM), including the Canadian Forces and Zamboni.

Princess Auto Wrecking, the predecessor to Princess Auto, was started in 1933 on Princess Street in Winnipeg. In 1942, Harvey Tallman, who had sold his truck, purchased the company. Originally the business was entirely local and involved dismantling used cars and selling parts to garages. After World War II the business expanded to selling army surplus items and producing various products.

In 1951, Princess Auto produced their first mail order catalogue; by the middle of the 1960s the catalogue was available throughout Canada. As the company grew, it was moved to Fort Street and later to Panet Road, the current site of Princess Auto's headquarters and one of the company's two Winnipeg stores.