Advance Auto Parts 2007 Annual Report Download - page 26

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Please find page 26 of the 2007 Advance Auto Parts annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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AAP Stores
Store Overview. Our stores generally are located in freestanding buildings in areas with high vehicle traffic counts,
good visibility and easy access to major roadways. We believe that our stores exhibit a customer-friendly format with the
majority of our stores featuring an updated exterior and interior, brighter lighting, clean graphics and a well-designed and
easily navigated floor plan. The average size of our stores is 7,400 square feet with the size of our new stores
approximating 7,000 square feet. We have recently introduced a 6,000 square foot prototype store. Our stores generally
are open from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. six days a week and 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sundays and most holidays to meet
the needs of our DIY and DIFM customers. We offer extended hours in a limited number of our stores, including 24
hours per day in certain stores.
Our stores carry a standard SKU offering of approximately 16,000 SKUs while certain stores carry slightly
more SKUs within centralized market locations where there is demand for a more customized assortment of
merchandise. Additionally, certain of our stores serve as Local Area Warehouses, or LAWs, where they carry an
additional customized assortment of 10,000 SKUs for next day delivery to selected stores within the service area of
each respective LAW. The standard SKU offering within each of our stores is replenished from one of our eight
distribution centers on an average of once per week.
We also utilize a network of Parts Delivered Quickly, or PDQ®®
, facilities and one Master PDQ facility to
ensure our stores have the right product at the right time for our customers’ needs. Our PDQ® and Master PDQ®
network of facilities provide our customers an additional assortment of approximately 80,000 less common parts and
accessories on same-day or overnight basis. Lastly, our customers have access to over 275,000 SKUs though our
Special Order Center, an in-store kiosk where they order the requested item directly from one of our vendors for
delivery to a particular store or other destination as chosen by the customer.
Store team members utilize our proprietary point-of-sale (“POS”) system, including a fully integrated electronic
parts catalog to identify and suggest the appropriate quality and price options for the SKUs that we carry, as well as the
related products, tools or additional information that is required by our customers to complete their automotive repair
projects properly and safely. We strive to be the leader in the automotive aftermarket industry in serving our customers
by providing quality products at the right price and backed by a good warranty and outstanding customer service. We
offer many of the products in our stores at a good, better or best recommendation differentiated by price and quality.
Some of the products offered in our stores include the following:
Filters Alternators Transmissions Windshield Wipers
Radiators Batteries Clutches Windshield Washer Fluid
Brake pads Shock Absorbers Electronic Ignition Components Floor Mats
Belts and Hoses Struts Engines Steering Wheel Covers
Radiator hoses Suspension Parts Oil and Transmission Fluid Lighting
Starters Spark Plugs Antifreeze Wash and Waxes
We also provide a variety of services free of charge to our customers including:
Battery installation “How-To” Project Kiosks Electrical system testing
Wiper installation “How-To” Video Clinics Oil and battery recycling
Our retail stores are 100% company operated and are divided into four geographic areas. A senior vice
president, who is supported by five to six regional vice presidents, manages each area of retail stores. Division
managers report to the regional vice presidents and have direct responsibility for store operations in a specific
division, which typically consists of 13 to 16 stores. Depending on store size and sales volume, each store is staffed
by eight to 14 team members under the leadership of a store manager. We offer training to our employees, who we
refer to as team members, including formal classroom workshops, online seminars and certification by the National
Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (“ASE”), which is broadly recognized for training certification in the
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