While honing his expertise in retailing, Hyde realized that car owners need to upkeep their vehicles. He founded Auto Shack, an automotive parts retail store. His idea was quite different. His auto parts retail store should be like supermarkets – clean and tidy, and well organized displays, accessible products, and excellent customer service. His vision was realized in 1979.
Auto Shack opened its first store in Forrest City, Arkansas on July 4, 1979. On the store’s first day, sales were reported at $300. But that was just the beginning. Today, Auto Shack is known as AutoZone, a Fortune 500 company. AutoZone is the leader in auto parts retailing in the US. On the average, annual sales are reported at $1 billion.
Growth at AutoZone is fueled by exploring new business opportunities and markets. For instance, AutoZone launched a program that would offer credit and delivery to technicians in 1996. Soon, AutoZone opened its first store outside US shores, when AutoZone de Mexico opened in December 1998.
AutoZone has gone a long way. Today, its 65,000 workers referred to as AutoZoners are serving customers in 48 US states, Puerto Rico and Mexico. At the foreground of the company’s success is its strong commitment to a culture of customer satisfaction. Its pledge of excellent customer service is embedded in their pledge:
“AutoZoners always put customers first! We know our parts and products. Our stores look great! We’ve got the best merchandise at the right place.”
The pledge is not only memorized and recited, it is lived out every day be each AutoZoner. Advices at AutoZone are professional and trustworthy. The goal is WITTDTJR, which stands for What It Takes To Do The Job Right.