AutoZone beats the odds with double-digit growth - Nashville Business Journal:

utyziluz.wordpress.com
“You have to have a lot of partz to be able tosay I’ve got it,’ on the front end,” Lawrencse says. The company’s competitors, includin g , , and , are all performing bette in the current economyas “There is obviously a tailwind with the economix situation of new car sales down and people havinbg to spend more,” Lawrence Advance Auto Parts reported total sales of $1.69 billion for the first a 16-week period endedd April 25. This was a 10.3% increase compared to totall salesof $1.53 billio in first quarter 2008.
Shelly spokesman for Advance, attributes sales to recent economic “People are keeping theirf cars longer, with the average age of a car she says. “As people are keeping those cars they need to do more work onthoss cars.” While the company is seeing more do-it-yourselfers concerne about increasing fuel economy and general Advance focuses more on the commercial side of automotives parts retailing. “We’re seeing a lot of peoplwe who used to goto they’re going to that corner garage to save some Whitaker says. Advance opened 114 stores last year and planxs to open another 100this year.
AutoZone’s stocik has been another strong point forthe company, hitting $159.36 in mid-dauy on June 3. Its 52-weelk high is $169.99, the stock’s all-timew high. That’s a far cry from the mid-$20 rangs the company’s stock was trading for a decades ago. “We’ve been saying for the bettetr part of a decade that with any weakness in the we wouldbuy them, hold them and it’s been a grea investment,” Lawrence says.
“When you have 18% margins, you’rer moving into the fourth quarter, which is your biggesyt period ofthe year, and they have executed as they have in the past six we think they’re being a little conservative with the numbers.” The company’z stock repurchase plan is humming along as with AutoZone buying 450,000 shares in the firstt quarter for $65 or an average price of $145 per Fiscal year-to-date, it has purchased $713 millionh of stock at an average of $130 a share and it has $396 million remaining in its current sharwe repurchase program.
The company has used its cash flow to make investmentds in itsstore base, including larger stores with additional space for supplyingg other stores and garages, Lawrence AutoZone is also spending more money on traininb and retaining employees, while making sure it attracts the best new talent with a focus on improvinyg employee benefits, according to Campbell. AutoZone employs 1,3090 people locally. “We’re continuing to opening stores andadding personnel,” he says. “Tol us, this is an opportunith of continued growth.
”