I am angry at the AAP executive management team. Considering how poorly managed all of the brick and mortar stores are becoming Advance would be better off closing all of their stores except Online and compete with the rest of the online onslaught.
7 replies (most recent on top)
They need close or sale, terrible company
I also agree that corporate has created most of the issues as a way to save money. The McDonalds mentality for auto parts sales does not work, and hiring little boys and girls with zero automotive experience at minimum wage to sell auto parts is controlled by corporate. So before we hear all the big blowhard reasons that new car sales are to blame, take time to check out the average Advance Auto Parts store, they are the laughing stock of the industry, that is why sales are down, not new car sales. Or be like upper management and blame the weather for the dismal sales, because the CEO has a 22 million dollar income that shows he knows exactly what he is doing, " NOT"
I smell some AAP management in some of these replies.
As a customer I can tell you that no one is minding the store! I don't do business there anymore because they have hired a bunch of computer geeks that don't know anything about parts. If you have a tractor or equipment you can forget it. My shop buys from a reliable commercial parts company not a bunch of kids period!
As a former member of the executive league at AAP, the leadership IS the problem. I have never seen a culture of CYA and back stabbing as witnessed in Roanoke and Raleigh. I would agree that with the current environment, online only is a very viable alternative.
Your prognosis is absolute nonsense. Car loans are not tied to securities the way mortgages were, so your premise is completely unsupported. Also, cheap credit is probably a way of life now in finance. Cheap credit is a result of the Fed Fund Rate, not car companies, and the Fed used that rate to try and boost the failing economy. The dollar index improved as a result since the US economy grew more than other world powers, however that will probably decrease in the next few quarters due to the instability of our president. This will mean more cheap money, meaning another bull-market which should increase the share price for stocks, including AAP! I doubt AAP will be included until it learns how to leverage the profitable parts of the company.
Also, commonsense should prevail and I will lay it out to you, but I won't be surprised if you don't understand. Less car sales means more people replace existing parts, resulting in more do it yourself customers. If the repairs are too difficult for someone to do on their own, they take it to a professional, which means higher commercial sales.
Your reasoning sounds similar to that of the AAP management team for their failures, lacking any basis and bears no resemblance to reality. I don't even work at AAP and can see this crap. Take a break from Alex Jones for a few days and focus on yourself.
The problem isn't AAP management. The problem is much, much bigger.
Did any of you notice that car companies now have to amortize car loans over 7-8 years with zero percent interest?
No, of course you didn't. Because you know absolutely nothing about finance or economics.
Well, let me make it simple for you.
When companies have to sell their product using cheap, easy credit, it's because they can't sell it any other way.
When you see McDonald's workers driving around in 60K SUV's, that should set off alarm bells in your head that maybe there's a problem.
But it didn't.
Well, now you see the problem because you're getting laid off and watching the company go down the drain. And you think it's due to poor management.
Wrong. it's due to selling people cars who have no business getting a loan.
Just like 2008, only its cars this time.
Take a look at all the callbacks we're doing on a weekly basis without new product coming in, take a look at our inventory levels...
Our stores look like crap, we're not getting replenished and losing sales because our stores are empty.