When a DIY can go online and sign up for speedperks and buy the part cheaper than we are selling it to the commercial customer something is wrong. I've had my commercial customers call me about this multiple times. Their customers are showing them on their phones what they can buy the part for. So, no Advance won't keep the commercial customers like this. But they don't really seem to care. Our genius upper management from the DM's up think they got it fiqured out. They are living in a dream world of Pepsi's and Potato Chips!
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This company seriously screwed the pooch when they acquired CARQUEST.
All of these points are accurate and the problem is that the company wants to sell in both the retail and commercial channels under one name. It's very difficult to do that without upsetting one or the other channel's customers. The best thing they could have ever did (and didn't) would have been to keep Carquest as the commercial channel and advance as the retail channel.
And Auto Part International will come to our store and pickup the part we already priced the customer and sell it to them cheaper than us. I know that for a fact because after seeing the customers name in the PO field and calling them, they'll cut our pricing 10-20%. And nobody cares in upper management because we have complained and nobody does anything. This company deserves everything it's happening to it right now.
Oh no, this company has commercial all figured out, right up to the point that Worldpac will sell a part to a commercial customer for the same money (or LESS!) than they will sell to the stores! Friggin brilliant!!
Pricing for commercial has Always been a problem for Advance, they seriously do not understand how to handle commercial business because no one in upper management has ever worked in any auto related sector. This company had a chance to learn when they bought CARQUEST but instead ruined all the relationships that could have made it better.