Advance Auto Parts to Close All California Locations

The auto supply retailer plans to shutter 136 stores by the end of March amid sluggish demand.

An Advance Auto Parts store in Takoma Park, Maryland, on Aug. 22, 2024. Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images

Advance Auto Parts plans to finish closing all California locations by the end of March as the company undergoes a transformation after an $820 million operating loss at the end of 2024.

The store closures were filed in November on the state’s WARN notice system, a written notification employers must file before a mass layoff or closure.

The Virginia-based company filed notices indicating closure of 136 retail locations and two offices in the state. Closures started in mid-February and will run until March 29, according to the notices.

Advance Auto Parts, which adopted a “blended box” strategy of selling to both do-it-yourself customers and professional mechanics, announced Feb. 26 that the company had started its transformation.

“During 2024, we initiated transformative actions to reposition Advance for long-term success and value creation,” said Shane O’Kelly, president and chief executive officer, in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report last month. “We strengthened our focus on the blended box by divesting non-core assets, closing non-strategic stores and right-sizing our organization.”

The company’s board of directors approved a restructuring and asset optimization plan last year designed to improve profits and growth, and to streamline operations, according to the statement.

The company plans to close about 500 stores, about 200 independent locations, and four distribution centers by mid-2025, the company reported.  As of December, the company had 4,788 stores in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, the statement read.

The company’s strategic and operation plan is expected to save $150 million, of which $50 million would be reinvested.

Besides downsizing its workforce, the plan also streamlines the company’s supply chain and moves parts closer to the customer, according to the report.

In the last three months of 2024, the company netted $2 billion in sales, which was a drop of 0.9 percent compared with the year before.

The auto supplier is one of the latest companies to withdraw from the California market.

Foster Farms is planning to close its turkey plant in central California on May 9, laying off more than 500 employees.

Discount retailer Big Lots also planned to shutter 54 stores across California following a drop in customer spending and economic challenges, the company announced last year.