The largest auto parts and accessories chain in the U.S. is on track to get even larger with an effort to build upwards of 3,000 stores across the country in the next several years.
Based in Forrest City, Arkansas, the company AutoZone currently has more than 7,500 stores in the U.S. and Mexico, among other locations. With annual revenues in excess of $17.4 billion, the company’s growth has been nothing if not spectacular.
Once AutoZone decided to more vigorously pursue a national market model, its store count went from under 200 in 1984 to around 1,000 a decade later. By 2017, it was up to around 5,500 locations.
The company’s latest epic expansion, notes the publication Simply Wall Street, comes during a time of “ongoing challenges from tariffs, inflation, and weak consumer confidence.” But AutoZone’s hopes for the expansion are bolstered by a corporate forecast anticipating upwards of $22.6 billion in revenue in the next three years, along with $3.1 billion in earnings.
AutoZone stores are generally freestanding and range in size from 6,500 square feet to around 8,000 square feet. Recent new stores have been announced for Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Arlington, Texas; and Victorville, California.
The company currently has 173 stores in Arizona, 104 in Colorado, 67 in New Mexico, and 736 in Texas, its largest state.
AutoZone has also announced an effort to build what it calls Mega Hubs, or stores that are as large as 30,000 square feet, stocked with 100,000 products and items.
Many of the 300 or so Mega Hubs are being fashioned out of existing but vacant department store spaces, in particular former Toys R’ Us and Kmart properties.
