NEW YORK (AP) — Advance Auto Parts is closing more than 500 stores and shedding another 200 independent locations as part of its efforts to revive its struggling business.
North Carolina-based Advance Auto said Thursday that it would be reducing its U.S. footprint as part of a “strategic plan to improve business performance.” The company said it is shuttering a total of 523 of its Advance corporate stores, as well as four distribution centers, and exiting 204 independent locations by the middle of next year.
Specific locations and the number of employees expected to be impacted was not immediately disclosed. A spokesperson for Advance Auto declined to comment further.
Advance Auto still outlined some wider turnaround efforts in Thursday’s announcement. Despite these sizeable closures, the company noted goals like an “acceleration in pace of new store openings” and adopting a standardized operating model. And it pointed to supply-chain consolidation plans, noting that it expected to incur costs related to converting certain stores and distribution centers into “market hubs.”