Repco New Zealand will soon reap the benefits of the completion of the purchase of its parent company, Exego Group, by the Genuine Parts Company (GPC).
GPC, a US$13B company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, owns NAPA, North America’s largest automotive aftermarket parts businesses, with more 6,700 stores covering the US, Canada and Mexico. GPC acquired an initial holding of 30 percent of Exego Group in January last year, and will acquire the remaining 70 percent on or around 1 April, 2013.
The deal, worth approximately US$800 million, is set to strengthen Repco’s local operations. It will see a significant increase in the company’s product range, access to improved logistics and customer-facing IT systems and new opportunities for staff education, training and career development.
The Repco NZ team is enthusiastic about what the purchase will mean for Repco customers in terms of providing the right parts at competitive prices, and getting the best advice and service in the market.
New Zealand is a country with a particularly diverse vehicle fleet and the car park is becoming increasingly complex. Because of this it is becoming harder for distributors to generate the scale needed to adequately fund the parts ranges needed to service the fleet. The GPC deal will give Repco the ability to access and stock the widest range of automotive parts in the industry, which will be available to its trade customers from their local Repco or Appco store.
GPC’s initial investment last January saw a total of A$50 million invested in store ranges into Exego Group businesses across Australia and NZ, adding parts across every major category including filters, brake pads, shocks, suspension systems, rotors among others, as well as supporting infrastructure. This investment in inventory was the equivalent of establishing 100 new stores – an event never before seen in the Australasian industry.
As a result of the GPC acquisition, going forward, Repco will have access to the extensive product offering of its GPC-owned American counterpart, NAPA. With more than 500,000 individual stock keeping units (SKU), and a significant number of heavy duty, light commercial and agricultural offerings, NAPA’s offering is providing excellent product extensions for all Exego companies.
The commitment to further investment in Exego will also reach to enhanced electronic catalogues and warehouse management systems to ensure the extended range and increased stock can be managed efficiently across all stores.
Exego Group’s partnership with GPC will allow Repco NZ to provide its customers with the right part, at the right time at the best possible price.
Both GPC and Repco share an emphasis on building and maintaining strong employee relationships, and to ensure it continues to attract the very best staff Repco New Zealand will, as a result of this partnership, continue to pursue opportunities to enhance and develop staff skills with increased investment in development and training.