I am struggling to figure out if Auto Plus was supplying anything out west. The Auto Plus locator does not seem to show they supply anything out west at all. However that may not be how it was in the past.bryceleinan wrote: ↑May 7th, 2023, 10:04 pm I’m guessing Knecht’s may have been supplied by Auto Plus, owned by Carl Icahn. That chain is now bankrupt, which may explain why Pep Boys also pulled out of auto supply, since they were under the same corporate umbrella.
There are some Pep Boys that were still doing retail parts but they had turned over the retail sales floor to Auto Plus (signs still said Pep Boys, etc.). It is my understanding those are all now closing. Puerto Rico ones may not be closing, and may not have been turned over to Auto Plus either.
Auto Plus was a mix of corporate and dealer shops, mostly dealer shops. But the corporate Auto Plus units (that weren't ex-Pep Boys) were a strange assortment of formerly independent auto shops mostly in industrial type areas and quite limited in what they were selling. No shelf tags, no ad program, didn't really present as a legitimate "chain store" the way Pep Boys stores did.
I do not think Pep Boys/Auto Plus has been a success story for Icahn. The plan was to also procure parts through Icahn-controlled sources. Based on what has happened to Pep Boys retail and what is now happening to Auto Plus it appears the wheels have fallen off of the previous plan.