Advance Auto parts is closing 700 stores nationwide.
We are a small community parts wise for them. other than repair shop sales. Most go in grab a few things, car wash soap, wax, 1-2 quarts oil since car leaks, wiper blades when it rains. Or stuff on what we think are the silly car stuff isles with what would be JC Witney type stuff for today's cars.
Guys that do their own brake jobs and such to keep the old car on the road are not upper-class guys. The stores here are in lesser hoods. One is in what looks like South Africa and the other is in what looks like South America. They are placed where they are needed. I think the economy is bad for the clientele they sell too. No one is a well-dressed middle-class guy.
This is not the 70-80s where guys hung out at the auto store cars are just not fixable to the average guy. And are making um less and less can be fixed by Average Joe