**************** Advance Auto Parts has been around for 93+ years!
Answer
Advance Auto Parts was founded in 1932. Specifically, on April 29, 1932, Arthur Taubman acquired a three-store chain called Advance Stores, which had two stores in Roanoke, Virginia, and one in Lynchburg, Virginia15. Taubman purchased the business from Pep Boys and launched what would eventually become Advance Auto Parts5.
Arthur Taubman, born in 1901 in Astoria, New York, had previous experience in retail and auto parts1. Despite having only a grade school education, he successfully turned around the struggling Advance Stores chain using his practical business knowledge and a four-point philosophy focused on customer value, integrity, quality merchandise, and treating employees like family1.
From these humble beginnings with just three stores, Advance Auto Parts has grown over the past 92 years to become one of the largest automotive aftermarket parts providers in the United States, serving both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers25.
Advance bought a lot of the parts departments of the Pep Boys stores, Pep Boys keeping the auto repair/tire side. Their prices were worse than Autozone and O’Reilly, plus online places like Rock Auto.