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In auto-parts chain store retailing, a burgeoning Midwestern operation raises the benchmark in its segment and region, offering all do-it-yourselfers a shopping experience that runs counter to the stereotypical car-part, accessory and tool chain operator.
Murray's Discount Auto Parts Inc., whose headquarters is located just outside of the Motor City, Detroit, bills itself as the "supermarket for auto parts." The Belleville, Mich.-based chain is the antithesis of the region's typical chain or neighborhood independent-aftermarket auto-parts retailer. It seeks to intentionally break the mold to capture the untapped customer-base potential that other autoparts retailers have failed to attract or have even shunned.
Standards that today's shoppers expect are not ubiquitous throughout its level and segment of retailing. Features such as personal shoppers, endof-aisle computer-assisted ordering, and large 10,000-sq.-ft. stores with everyday-low-priced merchandise stacked high in the aisles are not common in regional auto-parts retailing, according to the chain's executives.
It's the reason why Murray's has become the exception to the daunting stereotypical local parts store and is visited by a wider range of customers who may not be the traditional autoparts shopper.
Customer attraction: Murray's wants to make the auto-parts shopping experience enjoyable for even the novice do-it-yourselfer. Its clean, brightly lighted stores feature multiple checkout lanes with a customer-service desk in the back of the store, giving the space the appearance of a grocery store rather than an auto-parts shop.
"We want to treat the customer as we would treat our best friends," offers Mike Klein, president of the small, 74-unit regional chain.
Murray's concept, Klein says, is based on making customers feel comfortable regardless of their level of expertise and offering the products in a familiar shopping environment.
"Murray's Auto Parts stores are nonintimidating. One of the greatest compliments I get is from men who tell me, 'I can send my wife to Murray's and I trust you guys will treat her well,"' Klein adds.
Klein says this formula is the reason for its above-average volume. Murray's claims to push $3 million through each of its stores annually, compared to an industry average of less than $2 million, including even national chains. In addition, because of its stack-'em-high product offerings, Murray's says its sales per square...