AutoAnything

AutoAnything
Industry Automotive Parts and Accessories
Founded 1979 (1979)
Founder Selwyn Klein
Headquarters San Diego, CA, USA
Products Brakes, Rotors & Pads, Floor Mats & Liners, Air Intake Systems, Suspension Systems, Tonneau Covers, Nerf Bars & Running Boards, Air Filters
Website AutoAnything.com

AutoAnything is an automotive retailer company founded in 1979 by Selwyn Klein, at which time it sold Blue Ribbon seat covers as well as other accessories. AutoAnything offers aftermarket performance automotive parts and accessories for cars, trucks, jeeps, vans and SUVs. In 1997, he and one of his sons worked together to create the website AutoAnything.com. His youngest son joined them in the company two years later in 1999.

Since its inception in 1979, the company was met with both critical and commercial success, ranking highly on Internet Retailer's Top 500 list at #157 and posting profits in 2010 and 2011. Google's Trusted Stores program in conjunction with its AdWords text ads and Product Listing Ads in Google Shopping also contributed to the company's financial health. In 2012, the company was bought out by AutoZone, which AutoZone notes contributed to an increase in profits in its e-commerce sector. Despite AutoZone considering the purchase of AutoAnything to be a successful move on its part, writers for financial analysis websites have suggested tha the purchase of the website would not cause major changes for AutoZone, though some felt that its attempt to strengthen its e-commerce presence was a good idea. It presently holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and is accredited by the BBB.

History

AutoAnything was founded in 1979 by Selwyn Klein.[1] The company initially focused on selling Blue Ribbon seat covers and custom carpet floor mats, and the selection expanded further as time passed.[1] It has also featured products such as bed liners and performance programmers.[1] It offers aftermarket performance automotive parts and accessories for cars, trucks, jeeps, vans and SUVs. In 1997, he and his son David worked together to create the website AutoAnything.com, and two years later, his youngest son Trevor joined them to work with the company.[2] Adrian Crisan served as AutoAnything's VP of Software Engineering, but quit in 2015 in order to become BuyAutoParts.com's Chief Information Officer.[3] AutoAnything began using the Vovici service in 2010, a service which allows AutoAnything to gather feedback from customers and visitors to its website.[4]

Other services and endeavors

In addition to its normal services, the company provides smaller, free services for those interested in automobiles, the automobile industry, and the general use of them. These kinds of services include auto-related infographics (such as a "max speed limit" infographic) and a wallpaper that uses images that reference car brands in it.[5][6] AutoAnything has also contributed to auto-related giveaways for other websites, including giving a Maxsa brand emergency flashlight to Motor Authority.[7] AutoAnything is a sponsor of the website "You Park Like an Asshole" where people can download an image that they can stick to the car windshields of people who park improperly.[8] AutoAnything created a research guide for consumers to use in order to help save money with gas pumps. This guide offers tips and debunks common myths, as well as highlight the company's products which relate to saving money on gas.[9]

Co-founders Trevor and David Klein, among others, helped fund the social media website Soci to help with its "Software as a service" program.[10] The company has also formed partnerships with other organizations - both philanthropic and business-based - such as the charitable organization Cruise 4 Kids, a charity formed in order for its founder to "give back to the community.[11][12]

Website redesign efforts

In August of 2011, the AutoAnything.com website was revamped to incorporate HTML 5 into its design, which contributed to faster load times.[13] The company began working on a solution the problem of loading issues with their website in 2009. The problems were caused by the number of pages on the website, the number of images used on these pages, a live chat, site personalization, and a recommendation engine.[14] The company tested this by having half of the visitors use the new acceleration services, while the other half experienced the website as it is.[14] The change in how the website handles traffic helped them experience "an 11% increase in average ticket size and a 12% to 13% increase in sales" as well as an increase in revenue by 15%.[14] The company experienced a return on investment and was given credit for helping the company handle both its busy seasons and its normal sales periods.[13][14] During the testing phase of this new website architecture, AutoAnything utilized Adobe's Test & Target function of the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite to verify that all of the changes made to the website's design and infrastructure would work, and that every feature and interaction was done well.[15]

Purchase by AutoZone

AutoZone initialized the purchase of AutoAnything in 2012, which AutoZone CEO Bill Rhodes felt would improve his company's online sales presence.[16] The purchase involved AutoZone buying the assets and select liabilities of AutoAnything.[16] The purchase was eventually finalized in 2013.[17] Presently, AutoAnything operates underneath AutoZone's "Other" segment, wherein it operates alongside two other segments of AutoZone, including ALLDATA and eCommerce.[18]

Reception and sales

Since its creation in 1979, AutoAnything has received generally positive reception from consumers and critics. It was featured consistently on Internet Retailer's top 200 list of companies; in 2012, the company was featured at #157.[19] It currently holds an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB)'s website, and is an accredited business by the BBB.[20]

In 2011, AutoAnything.com experienced sales of $111.9 million, which was up by 13.8% from $98.3 million in sales from 2010.[19] Some time after its purchase, AutoZone's ecommerce sales increased by 80.1% (from $43.2 million to $77.8 million) in the third quarter of 2013. This increase was attributed to their purchase of AutoAnything.com.[21] Following Google's decision to utilize its Trusted Stores program with its AdWords text ads and Product Listing Ads for Google Shopping, AutoAnything experienced an increase of 5.2% in sales.[22] In an article for Guru Focus, it was advised that potential stock owners in AutoZone avoid the company due to an upward trend of automotive consumers choosing to buy new cars as replacements for their old ones instead of repairing them. On the other hand, he noted that the purchase of AutoAnything was a smart decision by the company, as they felt that e-commerce was a big market with a lot of potential for AutoZone to expand into.[23] Another editor for Guru Focus agreed that the acquisition of AutoAnything was big for AutoZone due to the high level of popularity behind online shopping.[24] The Motley Fool editor Amal Singh noted that while AutoZone was having difficulties, the purchase and following success of AutoAnything under its control have done well for the company.[25]

An editor for the financial analysis website Zacks.com commented on AutoAnything under AutoZone, stating that "gross profit increased 7.8% to $1.04 billion, or 52.1% of sales, from $962 million, or 51.9% of sales, in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year growth in margins was due to increased merchandise margins and reduced shrink expense, partially offset by the impact of the AutoAnything acquisition."[26] An editor for the website Seeking Alpha noted that AutoZone experienced some issues due to a particularly warm winter in 2012 and the purchase of AutoAnything.[27][28] Another editor for Seeking Alpha felt that the purchase of AutoAnything would not contribute a great deal to improvement in the company's growth.[29] Staff for the rating service Standard & Poor felt that while credit ratios could be weakened and that AutoZone could increase leverage, the company's "steady profit growth and strong cash flow generation" lead them to believe that the purchase and any effects that were caused by the purchase would not have a "material impact" on the near-term profitability for AutoZone.[30] In the book Beginner's Guide to Dot Com Riches, the author used AutoAnything's website as an example of a website that is poorly designed. The author cited things such as frequent use of keywords and the company's tendency to use text that's intended to show up in search engines that ends up confusing the readers. The author noted that this could help with getting a brand known, but it can also hurt a business' reputation.[31]

Sponsorships

AutoAnything partnered with Chuck Beal Racing in order to sponsor one of the company's vehicles driven by Brandon Welch.[32] At the 2015 NHRA Toyota Nationals at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Brandon Welch made a full pass of 4.30 seconds in the 3rd qualifying session.[33][34]

External links

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ernzen, Patrick (2012-01-06). "AutoAnything - A Top Online Aftermarket Accessories Store". Desert Motors. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  2. ↑ "About Us". AutoAnything. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  3. ↑ "BuyAutoParts.com Names CIO". SoCal Tech. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  4. ↑ "Leading Online Automotive Retailer Tunes Into Customer Needs Using Vovici". Green Technology World. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  5. ↑ Davies, Alex (2012-09-07). "The States With The Highest Speed Limits In The Country [Infographic]". Business Insider. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  6. ↑ "Auto Hide 'n' Seek Wallpaper". AutoAnything. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  7. ↑ Rigney, Matt (2008-12-17). "Mustang Blog Giveaway Day 2: Emergency Flashlight & 3 Die-cast Mustangs". Motor Authority. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  8. ↑ Wells, Jane (2010-11-12). "Parking Pet Peeves". CNBC. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  9. ↑ "AutoAnything Arms Its Customers For the Battle at the Gas Pump". The Free Library. 2006-03-01. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  10. ↑ O'Malley, Gavin (2014-11-17). "Soci Raises $1.5M, Monies To Expand SaaS Offers". Social Media & Marketing Daily. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  11. ↑ Venturella, Nino (2014-08-30). "AUTOANYTHING.COM SUPPORTING C4K". Cruise 4 Kids. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  12. ↑ "ABOUT US". Cruise 4 Kids. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  13. 1 2 Stambor, Zak (2012-11-01). "AutoAnything drives down its response times". Internet Retailer. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Revving Up for Speed". Chain Store Age. 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  15. ↑ "AutoAnything Validates Site Design with Adobe Test & Target". Web RTC World. 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  16. 1 2 "AutoZone Q1 Profit Beats View, To Buy AutoAnything". RTT News. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  17. ↑ Briggs, Bill (2013-10-02). "AutoZone’s web sales race ahead by almost 60% in fiscal 2013". Internet Retailer. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  18. ↑ Dunham, Erica (2015-02-01). "Shares of AutoZone, Inc. Sinks by -1.17% for the Week". Rock Hill Daily. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  19. 1 2 Briggs, Bill (2012-12-04). "AutoZone acquires AutoAnything to help grow e-commerce". internet Retailer. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  20. ↑ "BBB Business Review - AutoAnything Inc". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  21. ↑ Woodward, Kevin (2013-05-23). "AutoZone’s e-commerce sales increase 80% in the third quarter". Internet Retailer. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  22. ↑ Crum, Chris (2013-11-23). "Google Adds Trusted Stores To Ratings In AdWords Ads". Web Pro News. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  23. ↑ smartinvestments (2014-11-11). "AutoZone Should Be Avoided". Guru Focus. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  24. ↑ ankitp (2015-01-16). "This Auto Parts Retailer Deserves A Place In Your Portfolio". Guru Focus. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  25. ↑ Singh, Amal (2014-06-18). "This Aftermarket Retailer Looks Like a Solid Long-Term Pick". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  26. ↑ "AutoZone Beats on Q2 Earnings". Zacks.com. 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  27. ↑ "AutoZone Sets A New High". Seeking Alpha. 2014-01-24. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  28. ↑ "Autozone - Tough Market Conditions And Warm Weather Results In Growth Standstill". Seeking Alpha. 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  29. ↑ "Auto Parts Retailers Feeling The Auto Recovery". Seeking Alpha. 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  30. ↑ "Bulletin: AutoZone Inc. Pact To Acquire AutoAnything Does Not Affect Ratings Or Outlook". Alacra Store. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  31. ↑ V.T. (2014-11-28). Beginner's Guide To Dot Com Riches. V.T. p. 15. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  32. ↑ "Welch, Beal will compete in Funny Car in Las Vegas". National Hot Rod Association. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  33. ↑ "AutoAnything Sponsors the Chuck Beal Nitro Funny Car Team". AutoAnything. 2015-11-01. Archived from the original on 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  34. ↑ "Records fall on first day of NHRA Toyota Nationals qualifying at The Strip at LVMS". Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas). 2015-10-30. Archived from the original on 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
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