O'Reilly-fication of CSK

[storewanderer]

I went into a Kragen here last week and there were a number or troubling conditions I saw. The staff was using the f word rather freely while I was browsing. There was a drugged up looking individual loitering near the front doors who was going in and out and seemed to know one of the employees. One of the employees smoked in the store for a number of seconds on the way outside to see the individual mentioned above. Aside from that the store is in a very old building in a not very good part of town and the upkeep is not the greatest.

I did buy something. They are still using the Kragen cash registers and the receipts say Kragen and appear the same as before, the same as they have looked for a long time. The credit card machine had an O'Reilly graphic on the screen though. Evidently they are not doing a systems conversion but keeping the old Kragen system at least now. Maybe they do a system change once the signs change.

Many Kragen Stores seem to be poorly maintained when you look at the condition of the building, the landscaping, etc. I don't think an auto parts store needs to be perfect looking but it should not look run down. These stores look very run down before you even get inside. They are actually okay inside...

Kragen's pricing has always been terrible. Product mix was usually not great. Service was usually not great. I don't think this new company can do much to run off customers; Kragen did a very good job of that already. This is one name change that I am all for. The stores just can't get much worse. Sort of like Save Mart.

[Super S]

The Schuck's stores seem to be hit or miss. Referring to the Longview stores, the 15th Avenue location resembles that Kragen store mentioned, an older building. The Kelso store is a former Al's Auto supply which is a newer building, as is the Ocean Beach Highway location.

As for the prices, sometimes they are ok, sometimes horrible, depending on what you buy. Schuck's has a reputation here though of not having very knowledgeable employees, and in my opinion, if it is a part they need to look up you are usually better off going elsewhere.

[Jeff]

I finally saw the first Kragen that has been renamed O'Reilly. Its in South Gate, Ca on Florence Ave.

[Alpha8472]

Did you take a look inside? Did they remodel the store?

[Jeff]

No, just drove by it. The Kragen that is by my house is still a Kragen.

[romleys]

I think O'Reily would be best off shuttering many of the California Kragen locations unless they have millions of dollars to spend remodeling the mess known as Kragen!

[jamcool]

Most of the Kragens seem to be ex-Kinney Shoe stores...signs with angled poles and angled roofs.

I hate to see the Checker name disappear under the O'Reilly hillbillies ....Checker was started in AZ as a spinoff of the Yellow Front chain (Army surplus ,Levis, and sporting goods stores)...many smaller town YFs had Checker Auto departments.

[Super S]

I was up in the Seattle area last weekend, and happened to drive by a number of Schuck's stores in transition. To say the least this is an interesting conversion. There are several stores I drove by which have received O'Reilly signage outside, but the inside still has a Schuck's sign on the wall. There are some which are just the opposite...Schuck's signage still in place with the interior remodeled to O'Reilly. And still quite a few stores which have received no updating at all. It makes me wonder if the ones not being updated may be near the end of a lease or something and will eventually close.

[Jeff]

The Kragen down the street from my house now has the O'Reilly signage up. Many others still have Kragen.

The Montebello store is an oddity of a Kragen. It was built inside a former VW dealership's lobby. The ceiling is low and inside is just plain white all over. It was never fancy and not as big as others. Its a relatively small store.

[Super S]

An interesting and strange development regarding the Longview 15th Avenue store, which was a Schuck's for 20+ years. As I was driving by today, i noticed, just across the street, O'reilly signage going up on a vacant building, which used to be Big Bird (a local closeout type of store) and more recently was extensively remodeled into a medical supply store which was not open very long. I am baffled by this one. The building they are moving into is actually older, and from what I can tell, will be smaller as they are keeping the walls that were added in during the previous remodel. About the only real advantage I see is a slightly larger parking area. The strange part is that the existing store across the street received new O'Reilly signage only a few months ago, while the two other local stores still have the Schuck's signage in place. The building they are moving into was actually vacant for 1-2 years. I don't understand why they went to the trouble of installing new signage on a store that is closing and moving across the street, that makes absolutely no sense.