subject: The Story Of Murrays Auto Parts [print this page] The Story Of Murrays Auto Parts
Murrays Auto Parts is the premier distributor of auto parts in the Upper Midwest. There are 112 stores operating in around the Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. Recently Murrays Auto Parts was purchased by CSK. CSK is now the largest automotive retailer in the US. While this is the end of one era for Murrays Auto Parts, they have had a long standing tradition of quality and customer service.
Brief Look at Murrays Auto Parts Murrays Auto Parts was founded in 1972 in Detroit Michigan. It started as a single store in Detroit. Founders Al and Murray Pitt grew the company into a multi state empire. Murrays primary customer was and is the do it yourself mechanic. They also sell parts to mechanics and do it for me customers, but primarily they have sold parts to home and weekend project guys. Murrays was a privately held company headquartered in Bellville Michigan that operated 109 stores at the time of the merger. The last year before they were bought out Murrays did in excess of two hundred and thirty five million dollars. Unfortunately this was not enough to get them out of debt and they were purchased for one hundred and seventy million in cash. A portion of those funds went to pay down their current debt. CSK financed a large portion of the acquisition and explored other various financing alternatives. Three years after the sale CSK continues its dominance of the market and has expanded and purchased other auto parts retailers. In these cases CSK has opted to keep the name of the purchased brand of stores in place to retain the name brand recognition in the states where the stores are located. CSK now operates auto parts stores in all fifty states and is set up to be the dominant player in the automotive parts market for years to come. While to certain degree it is sad to see that Murrays has been bought out, in a sense was the only solution as the market becomes more and more competitive with internet resellers. Because of this an auto parts retailer needs to be able to stay competitive with price and generally speaking the only way to do this is with massive volume. The merger between CSK effectively made it possible for Murrays to continue operating, keep its name and policies while still being able to competitive in the market. Over time we shall see if they can still keep up their traditions, but for now it seems like they are doing the best they can to survive.
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