October 15, 2025

ASW Conversations: Growing with data, technology and talent, with Bestbuy’s Nick Brunet

Adam Malik

Bestbuy Distributors is riding a wave of growth and innovation, according to President Nick Brunet, who recently sat down for a discussion during the company’s annual Buy & Sell event in Montreal.

He previously chatted last year during the same event in Vancouver, with Brunet now giving an update on the company’s progress and the state of the aftermarket industry in the latest episode of Auto Service World Conversations.

Brunet described the last year as “a really tremendous year, adding new shareholders, adding a new distribution center and really executing on our plan of expanding our business,” he said. “We’re doing it through hard work, a great team and trying to be a lot more efficient with data to help us drive our decisions.”

Bestbuy has been working strategically as industry-wide challenges, such as tariffs and shifting political landscapes, cause disruption.

“We’ve been able to do a good job at securing that, and that’s made in a plan that’s been underway for many, many years,” Brunet explained.

He further credited industry suppliers for adapting quickly. “Our vendor community has done a really good job at adjusting.”

Brunet emphasized the importance of data and technology in the company’s strategy.

“We continue to use data and software packages to allow us to be smarter, make better decisions,” he explained. “Inventory for us is key. If we have it on the shelf, our shareholders do a tremendous job moving it out into market.”

Earlier this year, Bestbuy joined the Federated Auto Parts family, a move that Brunet viewed as pivotal to the company’s success.

“The decision to move the federated was based largely on the IT piece that we can leverage, but also the knowledge that they have,” Brunet said.

As the company grows its shareholder base, better serving its shareholder members and their customers became a focus. The Buy & Sell event coincided with the opening of a new distribution centre in Montreal, marking a major milestone for Bestbuy.

“Quebec is a very important market to us — second largest in Canada — and we weren’t here,” Brunet explained. “So it was time for us to show up and support our Quebec shareholders, who for years have been asking for this. So finally, we’re here. Couldn’t be happier.”

The growth isn’t stopping, Brunet pointed out.

“What we need to do now is start looking at what the next five years look like. Obviously, we need to continue to operationalize our plan, adding new shareholders … and then continue to leverage it as much as we can,” he said. “Technology is important. There’s so much more work that we have to do in how we get parts from A to B, how we pick our parts throughout our distribution center.”

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