Western Auto
Western Auto Building in Kansas City
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| Specialty retail chain | |
| Industry | Auto parts |
| Successor | Advance Auto Parts |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Founder | George Pepperdine |
| Defunct | 2003 (end of brand) |
| Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
| Products | automobile parts, firearms, tires, bicycles, lawn mowers, home appliances |
Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories. It operated approximately 1200 stores across the United States and in Puerto Rico. It was started in 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri, by George Pepperdine, who later founded Pepperdine University.
Western Auto was bought by Beneficial Corporation in 1961; Western Auto's management led a leveraged buyout in 1985, leading three years later to a sale to Sears. Sears sold most of the company to Advance Auto Parts in 1998, and by 2003, the resulting merger had led to the end of the Western Auto brand and its product distribution network.
Western Auto originally started as a mail order business for replacement auto parts. The first retail store was established in 1921, and grew quickly as automobiles became increasingly more common. At one point, there were over 1,200 company-owned stores nationwide, usually located in metropolitan areas, and more than 4,000 associate stores (private franchise "dealer" locations), usually located in small towns. The associate store program was the first of its type, pioneering the way for modern day franchise operations. The company had five regional distribution centers in the United States, with the one located in North Carolina serving its stores in Puerto Rico.
Western Auto was known for its Western Flyer (bicycle) and Performance Radial GT (tire) brands. Other Western Auto private labeled brands popular with consumers included "Davis Tires" (likely named for Don A. Davis, a Western Auto president), "Tough One" Batteries, "Wizard" Tools, "TrueTone" electronics and "Citation" appliances. Western Auto was also the parent company of Auto America and Parts America stores, as well as acquiring National Tire Warehouse (NTW) stores. They also used the "Wizard" name on a line of outboard engines and boats for a short time.
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Wikipedia