Thursday, June 04, 2009
Advance's CEO touts future in Web sales
The executive made a rare public appearance in Roanoke to give DRI's keynote address.
The latest from The Ticker blog
The Minnesota-based chief executive officer of Advance Auto Parts said Wednesday in Roanoke that the company is in no hurry to build stores on the West Coast but wants to equip itself more fully for Internet sales.
Darren Jackson -- not known for his visibility in the Roanoke Valley business community -- gave the keynote speech at the 49th annual meeting of Downtown Roanoke Inc., a nonprofit development and advocacy group.
It was Jackson's first appearance before a large group of Roanoke Valley business and government leaders since he was given the helm of Advance Auto 18 months ago.
He devoted much of the time to describing the strategy and culture driving up the company's sales and profits. Jackson himself was paid $5.4 million in salary, bonuses, benefits and stock in 2008.
His reception was warm as he stood in the Taubman Museum of Art, which Advance helped pay for. He appeared with Advance Auto's Roanoke-based president, Jim Wade.
Jackson, 44, told the crowd that the company's employees will shape its direction. Many of them work at the Roanoke Valley headquarters, and they "are integral to our success going forward," Jackson said.
"It's been a 77-year story that has more chapters ahead of it."
Last year, Jackson, in his first year at the helm, established a satellite company headquarters for Advance Auto in Minneapolis, in which he bases himself much of the time. It is near his home.
The out-of-town shift of management talent created jitters that the $5 billion company with 3,400 stores might leave Roanoke, where it was founded during the 1930s. Advance has said that isn't planned.
The company employs 125 people in Minneapolis, compared with 1,600 in the Roanoke Valley. It is a major donor to area causes.
The crowd asked questions. Does the company intend to open stores on the West Coast? The executives said yes, eventually. It's not clear when.
In response to another query, Jackson said the company has a team in California developing Web-based applications to enable customers to purchase auto parts. "On the Internet, we're behind, and we're not behind by a small gap. We're behind by a large gap," he said.
Jackson said the U.S. auto manufacturing sector is under a "tsunami." But money is flowing into research focused on hybrids and batteries.
"The forces of innovation will change that industry," he said.
Five years from now, Detroit's overhaul will have reshaped the auto parts industry, too, he said, predicting a rise in foreign-made vehicles and new car types that will change what Advance stocks in its stores.
