Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Rubber News
  • European Rubber Journal
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • HUMANITARIAN
  • News
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
    • BEST PLACES TO WORK
    • OBITUARIES
    • OPINION
    • MID YEAR REPORT
    • SERVICE ZONE
  • ADAS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Custom
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
  • Resources
    • Events
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
    • SHOP FLOOR
    • AWARDS
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Best Places to Work
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
April 03, 2014 02:00 AM

Pep Boys banks on rebranding effort for 'Road Ahead'

Beth Snyder Bulik, Crain News Service
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    (Pep Boys photos)
    Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack is redesigning its showrooms around a modular layout.

    PHILADELPHIA (April 3, 2014) — Automotive aftermarket retailer Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack is mapping a return to its glory days — back when its famous founding trio knew their customers by name and lifelong relationships were forged.

    “I keep telling our associates that in the year 2014, I expect [them] to have relationships just like Manny, Moe and Jack had back in 1921—when customers came in, and they knew each and every one by name. That's the kind of service that people are looking for,” said Ron Stoupa, who has led marketing for the Philadelphia-based aftermarket chain over the past four years.

    The focus comes as Pep Boys grapples with a fundamental shift in auto care from a do-it-yourself model to a do-it-for-me model, and as the company faces increased scrutiny from Wall Street.

    Its most-recent quarterly results disappointed investors with lower-than-expected earnings and revenue of $507 million. For the nine months ended Nov. 2, comparable store sales fell 1 percent.

     

     

    Ron Stoupa, vice president, marketing, Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack

    “Our research shows that Pep Boys is a well-recognized brand by two-thirds of consumers, and customers recognize [it] as having knowledgeable staff, clean stores and good prices,” said Colin Bird, an analyst with marketing research firm Mintel Group Ltd. “But overall, car dealers are really making inroads into the do-it-for-me market.

    “Pep Boys realized they need to step up their game.”

    The company straddles two sub-categories in the auto aftermarket. It sells car parts, like AutoZone, but also offers maintenance and repair service, like car dealerships, independent mechanics and specialty providers such as Jiffy Lube Inc.

    Auto dealers may, in fact, be Pep Boys' biggest competition as the company looks to boost profitability.

    According to Mr. Bird, car dealers derive 55 percent of revenue from new-car sales; 30 percent from used-car sales; and 13 percent from parts and service.

     

    However, parts and service comprise more than half of their total profits, which helps explain why car makers such as Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group L.L.C. are building standalone quick-service centers on dealer lots, such as Ford's Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers and Chrysler's Mopar Express Lanes.

    Pep Boys is fighting back with a “holistic” rebranding — changing not only its marketing and advertising strategy, but revamping store interiors and exteriors, implementing new customer-service training programs and recalibrating its internal culture. Even its signature Manny, Moe and Jack caricature logo has been redesigned.

    Pep Boys also has ditched its price-based tagline and jingle “Everything for Less” and moved to a more relationship-based message with “Trust the Boys to Get You There.”

    Boston-based agency Mullen Communications Inc.'s Winston-Salem, N.C., office handles creative for the Pep Boys brand, which spent $23 million on measured media in 2013, according to Kantar Media, a unit of WPP P.L.C.

    Pep Boys is tackling two main initiatives through its “Road Ahead” format launched last year.  The first is complete store redesigns and the second is employee retraining.

    The company estimates a cost of $525,000 and three to four months to transform a supercenter store into its “Road Ahead” design, which includes modern wood and stone exteriors. Inside there are streamlined shopping zones and a large customer lounge with leather chairs, TV, WiFi and coffee bar.

    Employees in those stores will go through a “cycle of service” intensive retraining, Mr. Stoupa said. Employees in the rest of the U.S. stores are going through the same training on a smaller scale while they await their own market overhauls. All of Pep Boys' 800 stores are company owned.

    Pep Boys' approach is in line with the changing market. As cars become more complicated with more software and computerized parts, consumers are less likely to work on their own vehicles.

    “The do-it-for-me crowd is growing fast and the do-it-yourself crowd is shrinking,” Mr. Stoupa said. He used himself as an example, explaining he entered the market as a young man and DIY-car guy with a 1977 Thunderbird, “a lot of time, no money and a lot of knowledge.”

    Today he's in the other camp — as someone who has more money, no time and less knowledge of his 2010 Infiniti.

    ____________________________________________

    This report appeared in Advertising Age magazine, a New York City-based sister publication of Tire Business. Ms. Bulik is a free-lancer and frequent contributor to Ad Age.

    Related Articles
    Pep Boys: 31 new tire centers in 2013
    Pep Boys to broaden test of new store concept
    Pep Boys buys 17 AKH stores in L.A. area
    Pep Boys to expand 'Road Ahead' format
    Pep Boys Q1 sales up slightly
    Pep Boys: Store closings possible
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    Most Popular
    1
    Investment firm buys stake in Mavis Tire Express
    2
    Bridgestone 'making progress' on Russian withdrawal
    3
    Pirelli defers new board nominations
    4
    Bridgestone retail stores create customer rewards program
    5
    Turbo Wholesale acquires Tire Wholesalers Inc.
    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    Reader Services
    • Staff
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HUMANITARIAN
    • News
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
      • BEST PLACES TO WORK
      • OBITUARIES
      • OPINION
      • MID YEAR REPORT
      • SERVICE ZONE
    • ADAS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Custom
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • Resources
      • Events
        • ASK THE EXPERT
        • LIVESTREAMS
        • WEBINARS
        • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
        • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
      • SHOP FLOOR
        • BALANCING
        • DEMOUNTING
        • SAFETY
        • TIRE REPAIR
        • TPMS
        • TRAINING
        • VEHICLE LIFTING
        • WHEEL TORQUE
      • AWARDS
        • Best Places to Work
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION