MEMBER FEATURE
ALL PART OF A BIGGER PICTURE With more than 80 members, Parts4 is one of Australia’s largest chain of independent automotive parts retailers. The Parts4 story starts back in the early 2000s when a small group of ten independent automotive parts store owners met to discuss joining forces to improve their buying power and fend off the increasing pressure from the industry’s giants. “It was in that meeting that the seed for what we know today as Parts4 was planted,” Parts4 Automotive Business Development Manager, Kim Mamourey, said. “Those ten foundation members were visionaries. Today Parts4 has more than 80 members across Australia, and we’re still growing fast.” In the early days, the Parts4 member acquisition program was pretty basic and relied heavily on word-of-mouth. But as the group’s numbers swelled and their offer was refined, they took the leap and bought Kim on-board. “Right around the time I started with the group the big guys were trying to swallow up automotive stores and dominate the market,” Kim explained. “But our members are fiercely independent and pushed back as they want to make their own decisions, control their destinies, and be more than just obedient servants to massive corporate machines.” Kim brought a wealth of automotive experience to Parts4, and his appointment signalled a new era for the group. “There is power in numbers, and I was tasked with building out our member offer and growing the group,” said Kim. “While I was confident, the growth we have achieved has exceeded my expectations, but I still feel the best is yet to come.”
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine November 2020
Kim says the Parts4 model is attractive and he has big plans in place for future growth. He explains it allows members to purchase stock at extremely competitive pricing, provides them access to marketing and promotional activities, and above all, helps secure their future in this extremely competitive industry. “We’re not there to profit from our members. We’re here to help members to compete out in the marketplace,” Kim said. “More and more independents are realising that they need to be part of some sort of group so that they can survive. And that is the benefit of joining Parts4, because they belong to a group but then still have control over their business. “We work with a common goal of trying to make sure that the independents can stay strong in the marketplace,” he added. There is little doubt that Kim has put in some hard yards since joining the group; knocking on doors around Australia to let store owners know there is a group for independents they can join, but which won’t dictate to them. “When we tell people what we can offer them as an independent, it’s pretty hard for them to say no,” said Kim. “If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that it sounds too good to be true, I’d be retired because there is no catch in what we offer. We’re owned by our members and run for our members.” Kim has set some aggressive growth targets, and his plan is to exceed 100 members in 2022. “Our offer is compelling. I believe we are nearing
the end of the consolidation strategy that the larger players have used to fight for market share in the recent past,” Kim explained. “Last year, I completed a fact-finding trip to the US during which I spoke to a variety of different automotive companies to get a feel as to what we might experience in Australia over the next three to five years. “I found that we’re really not that different to the US. We’re just on a lot smaller scale. They went through the process earlier on that they had their consolidation, and we had ours later on. “Still, I was excited to discover that independents continued to thrive in what is considered the world’s most competitive aftermarket industry.” When quizzed on the future of the Australian car parc’s changing dynamics, Kim provided some fascinating insights. “The biggest challenge I see facing the entire industry in the next decade is the growth in popularity of electric vehicles,” said Kim. “They are coming, but while we see more and
