Document M4qZwrk7pmj7nXxrZMLYrBRqj

VIEWPOINT By Bob McKenna NAPA President Battery Program to Provide More Sales Power a number of years, For there have been two manufacturers supply ing batteries for the NAPA AUTO PARTS stores across the country. Our battery program and the service provided by these two manufac turers has been good. However, time and time again I've heard from stores and Distribution Center personnel that despite our "good" coverage, there must be a way to make our battery program, and thereby our battery sales, better. This past summer, NAPA Headquar ters reviewed our battery program care fully. In detail, we considered the sys tem with the two manufacturers we were currently using. And, we exa mined ways to make NAPA AUTO PARTS stores the largest supplier of batteries in their marketplaces. One fact which became apparent was that with two battery manufac turers, it was difficult -- if not im possible -- to make our battery pro gram as good as it could and should be. National promotions, advertis ing, merchandising -- all those ex tras which help to make a line work its hardest were not working as hard as they should have been because we had two manufacturers to coordinate with instead of one. NAPA needs to have the most aggressive battery pro gram in the aftermarket. With two manufacturers, we simply could not have that. So, we met with both battery manu facturers and challenged them to come up with the best and most aggressive national program they had to offer. With our goal of gaining a stronger hold on the battery business, we wanted each manufacturer to tell us what they could, and were willing to, do to help NAPA AUTO PARTS stores double their battery sales. I have to tell you, it was a difficult de cision. Both manufacturers came back to us with good and effective programs. At this point it became a process of de ciding which of the two manufacturers could best meet the challenge we had laid before them. After carefully weighing the propo sals of both, we felt that Exide (former ly known as General Battery) could pro vide NAPA AUTO PARTS stores with the best all around service and cover age. What's more, Exide understands how important our traditional custom ers are to us. And, with Exide, our bat tery program will have its main thrust into the traditional marketplace. Now, that doesn't mean that the retail or do- A.-..- it-yourself market will be ignored. It simply means that we will be able to continue our commitment to our largest customer base without slighting the other. The official changeover date to Ex ide is November 1,1987. Beginning on that date NAPA Distribution Centers will stock Exide Batteries. Now, we know that this is one of your key sell ing seasons for batteries. Because of this we have arranged the transition to Exide so that it is as smooth as possi ble for you. The transition will be made by means of a "running change." If you are cur rently selling batteries manufactured by Johnson Controls, you can continue to sell them for as long as necessary. War ranties and stock adjustments will be handled as normal by your Distribution Center. Batteries manufactured by Ex ide will be used to fill any order you place after October 31st. Also, look out for some changes in the part numbers as we make this transi tion to Exide. The number of changes, will be few and your Distribution Cen ter will be alerting you to these changes shortly, if they have not already done so. Please keep in mind, that while some part numbers will change and we are changing manufacturers for some of you, one thing will remain consistent -- the quality of NAPA batteries. I hope that you are excited about what is to come in the future of our battery program. We believe that with this switch to one national sup plier NAPA AUTO PARTS stores will have what they need behind them to increase their share of the battery business. And, helping you to increase your business is what we at NAPA Headquarters strive to do.