Retail Watchers

A few years ago O'Reilly Auto bought CSK Auto (Checker/Schucks/Kragen stores.) In the Checker Auto region (the Southwest) the O'Reilly name seems to be taking over - radio ads in AZ use the "Checker-O'Reilly" jingle (a few use the O'Reilly jingle without the Checker name)

The question is ... is the same thing happening in Kragen in CA and Schuck's in the NW?

Yes, they have ads for Schuck's-O'Reilly in print and on the radio. There's been no visible rebranding of any stores yet though,

Rebrandings have taken place in Portland and some portions of Washington outside Seattle. So far, no rebrandings in California.

The co-branded radio and print ads have been running here for quite some time in NV.

The "Kragen O'Reily" ads have been prominent however the Kragen name is still on the stores. Ive heard that the signs will change over to O'Reily "eventually" from a manager who had been with Kragen and previously Grand Auto for 25 years.

I have yet to see a completely rebranded store, but they are going by "Schuck's O'Reilly" when they answer phones and have ads. However, a lot of O'Reilly branded private label items are showing up in the stores. It seems like they are gradually phasing in the name like The Bon did when Macy's took over and the stores were known as Bon-Macy's but never were resigned that way. I do hope that O'Reilly will have more knowledgable people than Schuck's does though.

Their distribution center in Puyallup is branded exclusively O'Reilly. No CSK brand visible.

The last time I was in Milwaukee, I noticed that a former Checker Auto Parts store had been rebranded as O'Reilly:



(The store, incidentally, is reusing a twin-pylon sign originally used by an adjacent Krambo/Kroger supermarket in the 1950s and 1960s.)

In the Longview-Kelso area of Washington state, they have three locations. The Longview 15th Avenue store has received new O'Reilly signs. However, the Longview store on Ocean Beach Highway as well as the Kelso store, still have the Schuck's signage. They seem to really be taking their time with this transition.

I saw one store in Carson City, NV with the signs changed, but I don't think any others in this area have changed their signs.

Some stores have received interior remodels (mainly to remove the Kragen logo from the walls) and others have not.

It is a very slow transition.

Not much has changed inside these stores, and that is not a compliment.

They are probably taking their time to ease the shock of a name change. Whenever a store changes names you will definitely lose some customers. People are often very loyal to trusted store names.

I personally don't think that changing their name is a good idea. I remember my father taking me with him to Kragen when I was a kid. I certainly will miss the name.

I don't know how O'Reilly does with pricing. Are they cheaper than other stores such as Walmart or Target? If the prices are bad they are probably going to lose business to discount stores once the name changes.

When stores change names, they either have to improve the stores and provide a good shopping experience or risk alienating customers. In order to survive, O'Reilly needs to remodel or at least clean up their stores. I walked by a Kragen a couple of weeks ago and it looked severely neglected.