When was napa auto parts founded

From the beginning, Genuine pushed swift, reliable service as a way to outflank the competition. NAPA set standards and sold parts to jobbers. Genuine's business was in some respects helped by the Great Depression. Many people could not afford to buy new cars, so they held onto aging automobiles and bought the replacement parts needed to repair them when they broke down. Genuine continued to grow during World War II. Consumers again held onto their older cars, sometimes having little choice because automakers were devoting much of their capacity to the war effort.

By the same token, the War Production Board only allocated resources to parts manufacturers to build "functional" parts for cars. This restriction meant, for instance, no fenders or door hardware were available to sell to those needing them.

With auto sales slacking, the average vehicle was 7. With the prosperity of the s and the increasing number of families with two cars, Genuine expanded at a tremendous pace.

Rebuilt parts accounted for 15 percent of sales. Although it still bought parts from manufacturers, Genuine did some parts rebuilding itself, including clutches, brake shoes, and pumps. To increase its slice of that business, in the firm acquired Atlanta-based John Rogers Co. By the late s, Genuine was a nationwide distributor, supplying 2, independent jobbers and owning 33 of the 55 NAPA distribution centers, which then served 4, jobbers throughout the United States. The first NAPA brand parts were introduced in Genuine also supplied parts for trucks, tractors, power boats, and power tools.

Expansion outside the United States began in , when Genuine acquired auto parts distributor Corbetts, Ltd. Corbetts served more than jobbing stores. Genuine also began an expansion into Europe in , but this proved to be a short-lived endeavor as the European operations were sold off in The OPEC oil embargo in played havoc with the auto parts market.

With the rise in gasoline prices, consumers drove less and needed fewer auto parts in the short term. The oil shortage, however, also led to recession in and Car owners held onto their older cars, driving up sales and prices of auto parts in the longer term.

Nearly 90 million cars were being driven in the United States, and approximately 60 percent of them were over three years old, making them likely candidates for car parts. An increasing number of these vehicles were small cars, whose parts tended to wear out faster than those of bigger cars.

Although cars were being driven for fewer total miles than ever before, more of those miles were in urban areas, resulting in greater wear on the parts. Do-it-yourself sales soared, and mass marketers such as Sears Roebuck and J. Penney began increasing parts orders from distributors.

Auto parts were becoming more elaborate and expensive as a result of technology advances and stricter pollution standards. In , attempting to diversify, Genuine picked up a wholesale office supplies firm, S. Richards Co. Looney believed that industrial parts would be recession-proof in the same way that auto parts were: during recessions industrial firms would buy replacement parts for existing machinery rather than purchasing new equipment.

In the firm bought a Michigan-based industrial parts distributor, Michigan Bearing Company, to expand that segment of its business. In Genuine installed a computerized point-of-sale system for billing customers, tracking inventories, and automatically ordering replacements for parts that were sold. The system, developed with Data General Corp. This system gave Genuine an important advantage over competitors, because no other independent distributor could match the services Genuine could offer.

The firm had 55 U. Genuine ran six distribution centers and branches for industrial parts, selling to 50, customers. Office supplies were being sold to more than 5, retailers in 15 states. Genuine's leading item overall was spray paint used for touch-ups, which accounted for 8 percent of sales.

Exhaust products, filters, hoses and belts, and batteries accounted for between 3 and 6 percent of sales each. The number of vehicles in the United States continued to rise, reaching million by the end of , with an average age of 6.

Parts for imported cars accounted for only about 10 percent of inventory, despite rapidly growing import sales in the United States. Since the imported parts broadened inventory, the trend to buy imports was seen as increasing Genuine's advantage against smaller, less well-financed competitors.

General Auto had stores in 12 states in the southwest, north, and central regions of the United States. Genuine also was opening about five outlets a year, most in major cities. A recession hit the United States in and hurt Genuine's supposedly recession-proof industrial parts business. The recession was severe enough to temporarily shut down some factories, and closed factories do not buy parts.

As a result of its diversification, about 35 percent of Genuine's sales came from operations other than auto parts, up from 10 percent ten years earlier. NAPA was an increasingly important part of Genuine's business. Genuine owned 55 of the distribution centers, and of the 5, jobbing sites. Genuine thus had 85 percent of NAPA's sales, although that accounted for only 5 percent of the nationwide market for replacement parts.

Their mission was simple: improve the distribution of auto parts to serve the people and businesses who increasingly relied on cars and trucks for their transportation needs. NAPA oil is indeed made by Valvoline. One way to check for certain is to look at the label on the NAPA oil container. Napa — parts are bit more expensive; seem to be a bit better quality; MUCH better customer service; good knowledge level of employees; able to get pretty much any part very quickly.

Advance Auto Parts — customer service and knowledge level of employees is very hit and miss. A genuine part is a part supplied by the vehicle manufacturer in their packaging.

Aftermarket parts are parts produced by any other company. Often they are reverse engineered to be a very close to the original specification.

Many options are available which can vary wildly in price and quality. Shop Car Fluids Oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid, and even gasoline all play a major part in protecting and operating your engine.

Napa or napa cabbage Brassica rapa subsp. For a replacement clutch set, on the other hand, AutoZone was the cheapest of the group.

Napa has generally better quality on things. They are more expensive, but generally for a reason. NAPA has been the recognized quality leader in the auto parts and repair business for decades. Professionals have relied on NAPA parts for over 80 years because they fit right, work right and they last. A Little Napa Valley History. NAPA parts of all kinds are made in China or other countries and lots of the stuff assembled here or in Mexico has been made with parts from other countries for a long time now.

NAPA stores and warehouses, which were owned by a variety of member companies at the time, quickly became the go-to sources for parts. Over the years, Genuine Parts began to acquire the other NAPA member companies, and in became the last remaining member of NAPA, a brand with a reputation for quality parts, rapid availability, and knowledgeable people.

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