Carquest

Infobox_Company
company_name = CARQUEST Corporation
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = "Proudly Serving A World In Motion"
foundation = 1974
location = Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
key_people = Temple Sloan III, President
area_served = United States, Canada, Mexico
num_employees = aprox. 18,000 teammates
industry = Aftermarket Auto parts wholesale/ retail
products = OE auto parts, automotive finishes, tools & equipment, professional training, business management
homepage = [http://www.carquest.com www.carquest.com] USA [http://www.carquest.ca/ www.carquest.ca] CAN [http://www.carquest.com/spanish/ www.carquest.com/spanish/] es icon

CARQUEST Auto Parts is a chain of auto-supply stores. There are over 3,400 CARQUEST Auto Parts locations in North America. The company is a supplier to National Account customers like Goodyear, Firestone, CARMAX, Meineke, Midas, American Tire Dealers. Carquest merged with Straus-Frank Company in February 2004. [ [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=100EF9645DE719D5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D Express-News Archives : MySA.com ] ] General Parts International Inc. is the largest member of CARQUEST with over 1,400 locations. [ [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/43/43100.html General Parts, Inc. Company Profile - Yahoo! Finance ] ] Carquest acquired WORLDPAC (World Wide Parts And Accessories Corporation) in September 2004. [ [http://www.search-autoparts.com/searchautoparts/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=136021 Staid CARQUEST makes bold acquisition - - SEARCH-autoparts.com ] ] WORLDPAC is the leading supplier in North America to independent import repair specialists.

Sponsorships

Kellogg's and CARQUEST Auto Parts announced on May 26, 2006 a unique three-year agreement with Hendrick Motorsports that secures the two companies as co-primary sponsors of the No. 5 Chevrolets driven by Kyle Busch in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

On September 9, 2007, the two companies announced Casey Mears will drive the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, joining a team that secured its second consecutive Chase for the Championship berth Sunday, September 2, 2007 at California Speedway.

CARQUEST Auto Parts joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2002 as an associate sponsor of Chevrolets driven by the late Ricky Hendrick in the NASCAR Busch Series. The relationship carried over to the following season, resulting in a NASCAR Busch Series championship with driver Brian Vickers, and has since transitioned into the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

CARQUEST also sponsors the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Busch Series race, held at Lowe's Motor Speedway and the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California.

The company sponsored the CARQUEST Bowl from 1994-1997, 3-time IHRA Drag Racing Top Fuel Champion Paul Romine from 1997-2004 and from 2001-2004 was associated with the No. 2 Team ASE NASCAR Craftsman Truck driven by Scott Riggs and Jason Leffler.

Stores

There are over 3,400 stores in North America [cite news |first= Bill |last= Wilson |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title= Carquest expanding in Wichita |url= http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-32697606_ITM |format= excerpt |work= The Wichita Eagle |publisher= |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date= 2007-08-07 |accessdate=2008-06-26 |language= |quote= Carquest is expanding its 3400-store base nationwide... |archiveurl= |archivedate= ] [cite news |first= Pat |last= Sangimino |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title= CarQuest opens two Wichita locations, takes aim at commercial repair market |url= http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2007/12/24/story7.html?page=2 |format= |work= Wichita Business Journal|publisher= American City Business Journals |location= |id= |pages= |page= 2 |date= 2007-12-21 |accessdate=2008-06-26 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ] and 1 location in Northern Marina Islands.

Carquest has expanded to South Florida, openning several new stores.First new store opened at Miami Gardens Doral and Davie soon followed

Ownership

CARQUEST is a marketing umbrella for various Warehouse Distributors to better market their brand. Over the years one WD has acquired the majority of operations - General Parts of Raleigh NC ( GPI ). Recent acquistions include the WD's covering California and Texas. Other warehouse members are BWP from New York, and smaller operations in Nevada, Idaho & Hawaii. CARQUEST as a group also run a shared warehouse in New Castle IN that services all member Distribution Centers (DC's) for lines that are too small to source directly and published a SERVICE LINE Catalog to cover most of these products.

Carquest has expanded to South Florida, openning several new stores.First new stored opened at Miami Gardens Doral and Davie soon followed.

Canada

CARQUEST covers most of Canada with 15 warehouses across the country: Toronto ON, Mississauga ON, Montreal PQ, St. John NB, three locations in the Vancouver Lower Mainland, Victoria BC, Winnipeg MB, and Edmonton AB.

References

External links

* [http://www.carquest.com CARQUEST Auto Parts]
* [http://www.carquest.ca CARQUEST Canada]
* [http://www.worldpac.com WORLDPAC official website]