pipeline010
Sr. Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2017
- Messages
- 618
Came across some interesting info the other day regarding NAPA. Maybe everyone already knows what I'm about to say and it's already out there but I was surprised and had it really click once I realized it.
If you want the beef just skip the narrative story.
Story:
I needed some POR-15 products last week so I could do my frame over the long weekend. I had previously picked up a starter pack to try it out from a local NAPA store a few months ago, but when I had bought it the box was literally coated in dust and the store looked really really crummy and run down.
So last week when I went back there the store looked even worse. I asked the guy at the counter if they had por15 he didn't know what it was. I asked him if he had any rust-proofing paints and he showed me basic primer and top coat paint. Absolutely zero knowledge of what I was attempting to do and very little interest either. Just wanted to get back on his phone.
I was out shopping with the family at various places, so I stopped eventually at another NAPA (same story) and then a general paint store. The paint store people were nice, but didn't carry those kinds of products.
As we went on we came across ANOTHER NAPA. I wasn't going to stop, but the place looked very busy and bright. So I tried it out.
FULL stock of POR-15, 4 people working registers. Everyone wanted to know what I was rust-proofing, was excited to hear about the truck, etc, normal auto shop stuff. So at check out I asked the guy....what the heck is going on with napa??
And here was his response:
NAPA was purchased by the company Genuine Auto Parts. The company DID NOT WANT a retail chain. What they wanted was the parts supply chain...the trucks, the distribution centers, the drivers....so they could move their products more cheaply around the country without having to build their own network. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE RETAIL SEGMENT.
So what about the store I was in? Well, it turns out each NAPA can be privately owned. MOST of the ones in my area were bought by G.A.P. but the store I was in that was run excellently was owned by a man who owned 2 local NAPAs. G.A.P. has been trying to buy him out and, so far, he resisted.
I don't know what this means for your local NAPA, but I thought it was very telling and made a lot of sense with what I had been dealing with locally.
If you want the beef just skip the narrative story.
Story:
I needed some POR-15 products last week so I could do my frame over the long weekend. I had previously picked up a starter pack to try it out from a local NAPA store a few months ago, but when I had bought it the box was literally coated in dust and the store looked really really crummy and run down.
So last week when I went back there the store looked even worse. I asked the guy at the counter if they had por15 he didn't know what it was. I asked him if he had any rust-proofing paints and he showed me basic primer and top coat paint. Absolutely zero knowledge of what I was attempting to do and very little interest either. Just wanted to get back on his phone.
I was out shopping with the family at various places, so I stopped eventually at another NAPA (same story) and then a general paint store. The paint store people were nice, but didn't carry those kinds of products.
As we went on we came across ANOTHER NAPA. I wasn't going to stop, but the place looked very busy and bright. So I tried it out.
FULL stock of POR-15, 4 people working registers. Everyone wanted to know what I was rust-proofing, was excited to hear about the truck, etc, normal auto shop stuff. So at check out I asked the guy....what the heck is going on with napa??
And here was his response:
NAPA was purchased by the company Genuine Auto Parts. The company DID NOT WANT a retail chain. What they wanted was the parts supply chain...the trucks, the distribution centers, the drivers....so they could move their products more cheaply around the country without having to build their own network. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE RETAIL SEGMENT.
So what about the store I was in? Well, it turns out each NAPA can be privately owned. MOST of the ones in my area were bought by G.A.P. but the store I was in that was run excellently was owned by a man who owned 2 local NAPAs. G.A.P. has been trying to buy him out and, so far, he resisted.
I don't know what this means for your local NAPA, but I thought it was very telling and made a lot of sense with what I had been dealing with locally.