Advance Auto Parts plans to close over 700 stores as sales sag

Amid a year of sagging sales, Advance Auto Parts said it plans on closing over 700 locations by mid-2025.
The company said it will reduce the number of Advance Auto Parts locations from 4,492 by 727. Of those 727 stores to close, 523 are corporate owned while the other 204 are independently owned. A list of closing locations was not immediately available.
Additionally, the company plans on shuttering four distribution centers.
Advance Auto Parts said its comparable store sales declined 2.3% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time a year earlier. The plan to close stores is part of a three-year plan to improve operating income.
In addition to changes in store operations, Advance Auto Parts plans to consolidate its distribution centers, strategically source its vendors and implement assortment management to enhance availability of parts.
“We are charting a clear path forward and introducing a new three-year financial plan, with a focus on executing core retail fundamentals to improve the productivity of all our assets and to create shareholder value,” said Shane O’Kelly, president of the company.
Earlier this month, Advance Auto Parts announced it had sold Worldpac, Inc. for $1.5 billion. The company is a wholesale distributor of auto parts.
Advance Auto Parts is currently the fourth-largest chain of auto parts stores in the U.S.