Who Founded Advance Auto Parts, Inc.?

Advance Stores Company opened its first location in 1932 in Roanoke, Virginia, founded by Arthur Taubman and his brother Charles. The original concept was not an auto parts specialist but a general merchandise store selling auto supplies, home goods, and hardware to residents of the Roanoke Valley during the Great Depression. The Taubman brothers operated a small chain of stores in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia, serving a rural customer base that needed affordable goods for both home and vehicle maintenance. The company did not focus exclusively on automotive parts until the 1970s, when management recognized that the growing U.S. vehicle fleet and increasing vehicle complexity created a sustainable demand for replacement parts and accessories.

The name was changed to Advance Auto Parts in 1974, signaling the strategic pivot to automotive specialization. The company expanded through organic growth and small acquisitions in Virginia and neighboring states, building a reputation for parts availability and knowledgeable counter staff. In 1968, Advance went public, raising capital for geographic expansion across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The IPO was not a high-profile event — Advance was a regional player in a fragmented industry dominated by independent jobbers and small chains — but it provided the capital base for decades of steady growth.

The modern Advance Auto Parts was shaped by a series of transformative acquisitions. In 1998, the company acquired Western Auto Supply Company, a 1,000-store chain that expanded Advance's footprint into the Midwest and Southwest and added significant commercial distribution capabilities. The Western Auto acquisition was the first major step in Advance's evolution from a regional retailer to a national player, though integration challenges — a recurring theme in Advance's history — emerged as Western Auto's systems and culture differed from Advance's.

The defining acquisition was the October 2013 agreement to acquire General Parts International, Inc. for $2 billion in cash. General Parts was the parent company of Worldpac — a leading wholesale distributor of imported original equipment and aftermarket parts — and Carquest, a network of auto parts stores and independent jobbers with a strong presence in the professional installer channel. The deal was the largest in Advance's history and was intended to create a 'blended-box' powerhouse that could serve both DIY and Pro customers at scale. Temple Sloan, founder of General Parts and a key investor in Raleigh real estate through Highwoods Properties, had built General Parts into one of the most respected names in the automotive aftermarket.

The acquisition closed in 2014, and Advance moved its headquarters from Roanoke to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2018 — a relocation supported by $9.3 million in state financial incentives after Advance pledged to create 435 jobs. The combined company operated over 5,200 stores and 150+ distribution centers at peak, with revenue exceeding $11 billion. But the integration proved far more difficult than anticipated. General Parts' Carquest distribution centers were generally smaller and less automated than Advance's legacy facilities, leading to chronic stockouts and unfilled orders. The two companies maintained separate IT systems, separate purchasing organizations, and separate corporate cultures. Tom Greco, who joined as CEO in April 2016 from Frito-Lay North America, spent his seven-year tenure attempting to merge the operations while also pursuing growth initiatives including the $200 million DieHard acquisition from Sears in 2020.