Thread regarding Advance Auto Parts Inc. layoffs

Wal-Mart Already Is In The Auto Parts Business, Chub Oreilley (oreilleys Auto parts ) Married Sam Waltons Daughter ... So I Say The Wal-Mart Thing Is Just A Farce

walmart buy pieces advance auto and the sales prices more down , nothing in impossible

As a former independent, the first Advance "big wig" we met stated that "we are the Walmart of auto parts,we buy the cheapest thing we can and put it in a box".That says it all for me.

There is a good reason why cuts took place - the are getting ready to sell.

Not sure if WMT needs us but nothing can surprise me any more.

I have called Advance the " Walmart of Auto Parts " for years..................am I psychic ?? Oh Wait, I digress , even Walmart would not be that stupid to buy them.

Awesome analogy! Most of the people are not bad people, just a poor fit for auto parts. When you target your new employees from failed or failing companies like Circuit City, RadioShack, Best Buy, K-Mart, etc. you deserve the mess that AAP now has. Hopefully the smarter ones that remain are planning their exit strategy. I don't see anyone that remains in upper management fixing this one.

I love the comment below regarding AAP hiring anyone with a pulse. It's so true and I literally laughed out loud.

It must sting a bit when someone writes an article and states you're the weakest player of the main 3 aftermarket companies huh? I hope it does. The way employees are treated is disgraceful when working for AAP. Enjoy your short term fix by laying off people, cutting company cellphones, and limiting travel from salesman.

Walmart is not that stupid. They can buy inventory anywhere. However, most of the AAP team would be a good culture fit. Walmary hires anyone with a pulse as well.

Should Walmart buy an auto parts retailer?

Hey, Walmart (WMT) , want to shake up a sector just as Amazon (AMZN) did last month when it announced its bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) ?

Then make a bold move that will enhance your reach, pump up your brand and widen your footprint with a fresh group of shoppers.

So here's a disruptive move. Consider buying auto parts retailer Advance Auto Parts (AAP) , the weakest of the big three in the sector, which has 5,000-plus locations in the U.S. The other two players are O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) , the fastest-growing of the three, and AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) .

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"In this sector, companies can exercise considerable pricing pressure over their vendors, which is what Walmart does well. If you have a competence in distribution like Walmart, it can be very successful," Brian Sponheimer, research analyst at Gabelli & Company told TheStreet in an interview.

"The automotive after-market [which sells vehicle parts, chemicals, equipment, and accessories after the owner buys the vehicle] is unique, and delivery is much more important than in other areas. People need their cars, so parts delivery has to not only be the same day, but within a matter of hours, and it requires bricks-and-mortar stores and distribution networks like Walmart."

Analyst John Birk of Morningstar told TheStreet on Friday, "I think it [the acquisition of Advance Auto Parts] makes sense first to continue to drive as much volume as they [Walmart] can through their system. They are trying to garner traffic and bring more to Jet.com. The auto parts [buy] would make sense."

Advance has a $7.5 billion market cap [in November 2015, its market cap was $14.3 billion] and trades on a price-to-earnings multiple of 16 times next year's earnings. Its going private market value is at about $162 per share, or a market cap of about $12.2 billion, according to Carolina Jolly at Gabelli.

Advance, which sells to both professionals and do-it-yourself mechanics, according to its website, has more than 5,200 stores, over 100 Worldpac branches and serves some 1,300 independently owned CARQUEST branded stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada. The company bought CARQUEST in 2014 for $2 billion, and noted Sponheimer, it has been tough meshing two entities that have different cultures and customer bases.

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Wedbush analyst Seth Basham told TheStreet that such a purchase by Walmart has a "low probability," but noted that the mega-retailer has recently exhibited an appetite for the "hard parts" customer. It has beefed up its online offerings of vehicle-related merchandise by selling hard parts, essentially parts made of steel that go under the hood.

Walmart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez told TheStreet in an email, "We often get asked to speculate about possible acquisitions, and we simply don't comment on those kinds of questions."

Advance Auto Parts declined to respond to requests for comment.