Monro is in the midst of a CEO search, in the wake of Brett Ponton's abrupt exit from that post in early August after just two-and-a-half years at the company's helm.
Robert Mellor, chairman of the company's board of directors since 2017 and a board member since 2010, is the interim CEO during the search process, while Mr. Rajkowski, COO since September 2019, was promoted to executive vice president shortly after Mr. Ponton's departure.
During its fiscal year, ended March 31, Monro upgraded 175 Monro Auto Service stores and rebranded 71 stores to one of its tire brands.
Worth noting: Monro's tire-centric stores report a 75/25 tires/auto service revenue split, while the more service-oriented shops show a 25/75 split. Overall the ratio lands at 51/49.
Checking in at No. 3 on the list this year is Icahn Automotive, with 962 Pep Boys outlets spread out over 36 states and Puerto Rico.
Icahn did not provide an update as to how many of its outlets have been converted to the newer style Pep Boys Auto Service & Tire format, but did say overall the stores' tires/auto service sales mix is 30/70.
Mavis Tire Supply edged ahead of TBC Corp. into fourth on the strength of a deal that involved both companies.
TBC sold 112 NTB Tire stores in four major metro markets in January to Mavis, which continues to operate them under the NTB banner.
As a result, Mavis has 761 company-operated outlets — operating under at least eight brand names — while TBC drops to 614 stores under its NTB and Tire Kingdom brands.
Mavis' market presence is enhanced through 125 or so franchised Express Oil/Tire Engineers locations.
Among Mavis' Express Oil company-owned stores are 18 former Havoline Express Tire Pros outlets in Alabama the company purchased in early 2020.
Les Schwab Tire Centers — which recently disclosed it is being acquired by Meritage Group L.P., a California- and New York-based investment group — holds onto the No. 6 spot with 441 company-owned outlets and 54 associate stores spread out over 10 Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states.
Kal Tire retains its position as Canada's largest dealership and No. 7 in North America, with 214 outlets throughout the country,
GB Auto Service, the Tucson, Ariz.-based holding company owned by Greenbriar Equity Group L.P., jumped four spots in the ranking to No. 8 on the strength of three acquisitions in the past year — Tate Boys Tire & Service, with seven stores in Oklahoma; Sun Devil Auto, with 32 auto repair shops in Arizona, Nevada and Texas; and Louetta Automotive, with 10 locations in the Houston area — that expanded its holdings to 174 outlets.
Fountain Tire of Edmonton, Alberta, and Cincinnati-based Tire Discounters Inc. round out the Top 10 with 155 and 135 stores, respectively.