Canadian Tire Inks Parts Supply Agreement with Uni-Select, Ends Five-Year Pact with NAPA

Canadian Tire has announced that the Uni-Select Network will be its primary supplier of auto parts outside the on-hand inventory at Canadian Tire and PartSource outlets.
The announcement comes as a similar agreement with the NAPA chain comes to a close. A five-year agreement with NAPA was signed in 2002.
The new three-year and a half-year supply agreement with Uni-Select will enable Canadian Tire stores to provide more automotive replacement parts and faster service to customers at the store’s automotive parts counter and service centres, says the company.
This new agreement will allow the Uni-Select Network to provide automotive parts on an as-needed basis for parts not currently within Canadian Tire’s own assortment and will also enable PartSource to source parts from Uni-Select’s warehouse distribution network.
“This agreement reinforces Canadian Tire’s leadership position in the auto parts market as it enables our customers to access thousands of brand name parts to service almost all vehicle makes and models,” says Tony Kuczynski, vice-president, Automotive, Canadian Tire. “With access to more auto parts, we’re also able to provide better on-site solutions and faster service to the 13,000 customers who use our auto service centres every day to get them back on the road and on their way as quickly as possible.”
Canadian Tire’s partnership with Uni-Select provides for a three and a half year business agreement that becomes effective January 1, 2008.
As the new preferred supplier of automotive parts, Uni-Select will be able to provide Canadian Tire with same-day access to more than 100,000 parts on an as-needed basis and in markets in which there is not currently a PartSource store. This agreement is a major component of Canadian Tire’s automotive growth initiative announced earlier this year that focuses on growing the automotive hard parts business by expanding category assortments, improving local market access for same-day parts and enhancing in-store customer service.
“Uni-Select and it’s national member network of 1,100 point of sales is uniquely positioned to supply brand name automotive replacement parts, and to support Canadian Tire in servicing their customers,” says Richard G. Roy, chief operating officer, Uni-Select Inc.