As NAPA celebrates its 100th anniversary, its success can be traced back to more than just auto parts and service. The company’s longevity is attributed to its emphasis on a culture that stresses relationships and service. Few understand NAPA’s history better than Randy Breaux, group president, GPC North America. In this Q&A, Breaux shares his insights into NAPA’s evolving culture and what he believes will take the company successfully into the next century.
You have been involved in the automotive industry for over 30 years, could you give us a brief history of all that entailed?
Breaux: I spent 26 years on the manufacturing side, the last 14 years of that with GPC. On the distribution side, I've been affiliated with GPC for 35 years. When I was on the manufacturing side, I was the primary supplier of Motion industry — the industrial business for GPC — and Motion was our largest customer. We were the largest supplier. So, I had that relationship, and I knew some of GPC leadership way back then.
In 2010, the Motion leadership asked me if I'd come join him there. So, I did in 2011 and then in 2023 they asked me to lead GPC’s North American businesses. Today, I am the acting president of NAPA in the U.S. with the Canadian NAPA President reporting to me.
What do you think has been a key contributing factor to NAPA's success over the 100 years?
Breaux: Early on NAPA started out as an association, and as the association members became part of GPC, it brought together a real culture of leadership and serving the customer. That culture still exists today, it gets refined along the way, but it started out with a solid culture of building those relationships. When you have an association, relationships bring people into the association. I think that continues today in the company.
I think the other thing is NAPA has done a great job over the last 100 years of keeping up with technological changes in the automotive business. It has always ensured that it has the solutions that the customers need. From the aftermarket perspective, we have a unique aftermarket model. We have our independent ownership model and our company and store model, and I think that gives us an edge, particularly in the rural markets. In the rural markets it's very much about the relationship. The independent store owners in the rural market go to church or play baseball with the people that they're serving. So, I think that's critical. I think that's a real edge for us, and I think that's going to stay around for a long, long time.
What are you doing to ensure that you're continuing to have that strong relationship with your members and continuing to build a positive culture?
Breaux: We include our members in our planning and strategy. It really comes down to trust within the relationship. When you think about an independent NAPA store owner, they have their whole livelihood tied up in their store, and they must trust — just like in any other partnership — that their partner has their best interest in mind. There was a saying long ago within NAPA that, “what's good for the independent owner is good for NAPA.” Today, that still holds true. When we look at our members, we want to make sure that they have the tools they need to be successful in their market.
What are you doing to ensure that you're staying on top of trends, so that you can offer the best to your partners?
Breaux: We have a very good relationship with our supplier partners. Changes are typically driven by the technological trends that are occurring with the original equipment manufacturer. Many of our supplier partners supply them. We also stay pretty close with the automotive manufacturers themselves.
What key factors give you a competitive edge in the automotive industry?
Breaux: Every customer has their own perception of what value is, and I believe there are four variables that create that perceived value.
The first is quality, and everybody perceives quality a little bit differently. But NAPA must provide its customers with quality parts. When we put the NAPA brand on a part, the perception is automatically a quality part. So quality is key, particularly as it relates to the parts that we offer.
The second variable is service, and service is also a perceived variable in the value formula. When you call up NAPA there's a perception that you’re getting good service. Or, if you're online and you can find a part in one or two clicks — versus having to go through 12 clicks to get to the part — there's a perception that I'm getting better service from that company. So, we must provide good service.
Cost is the third variable. We're never going to be the lowest price in the industry. You can't provide high-quality parts and exceptional service and be the lowest price in the market. Doesn't work that way, but we'll always be competitive.
The last variable is time, how long does it take to service that customer? And price and time are not perceived, they're hard numbers. So, we must be good at all four of those variables to create value for the customer, more value than our competitors, and that's what we strive for.
