O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. is an American

auto parts This is a list of auto parts, mostly for vehicles using internal combustion engines which are manufactured components of automobiles: Car body and main parts Body components, including trim Doors Windows Low voltage/auxiliary ele ...

retailer that provides automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself customers. Founded in 1957 by the O’Reilly family, the company operates more than 5,600 stores in 47 states and Mexico.

History

Michael Byrne O’Reilly immigrated to America in 1849. Settling in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, he worked his way through school to earn a law degree, and then pursued a career as a title examiner. His son, Charles Francis O’Reilly, attended college in St. Louis and went to work in 1914 as a traveling salesman for Fred Campbell Auto Supply in St. Louis. By 1924, Charles had become familiar with the Springfield area, having traveled by train to sell auto parts throughout the territory. By 1932, he had become manager of Link Motor Supply in Springfield, and one of his sons, Charles H. (Chub) O’Reilly, joined the company. Together they helped make Link Motor Supply the predominant auto parts store in the area. In 1957, Link planned a reorganization, which included the retirement of 72-year-old Charles F. O’Reilly, and the transfer of Chub O’Reilly to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. The two made the decision to form their own company, O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. They opened for business in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on December 2, 1957, with one store and 13 employees. Their sales totaled $700,000 in 1958—their first full year of business. By 1961, the company's volume had reached $1.3 million in combined sales volume of O’Reilly Automotive and their Ozark Automotive Distributors, a division formed to serve independent automotive jobbers in the area. In March 1975, annual sales volume rose to $7 million and a 52,000 square-foot facility was built for the O’Reilly/Ozark warehouse operation. By that time, the company had nine stores, all located in southwestern Missouri. As of March 2021, O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. operated more than 5,600 stores in 47 states, including Alaska and Hawaii and Mexico. On April 23, 1993, the company completed an initial public

stock offering A public offering is the offering of securities of a company or a similar corporation to the public. Generally, the securities are to be listed on a stock exchange. In most jurisdictions, a public offering requires the issuing company to publish a ...

, and since then trades on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

market under the symbol ORLY. The company offers a stock purchase plan to employees in order to enable as many full-time team members as possible stock ownership in the company.

Expansion

Mergers and acquisitions

On January 30, 1998, O'Reilly merged with Hi/LO Auto Supply, adding 182 auto parts stores in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, as well as a distribution center in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The Hi/LO acquisition made O’Reilly one of the top 10 auto parts chains in the country. On April 25, 2000, the firm announced the purchase of KarPro Auto Parts, which included a 66,000 square foot distribution center in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, and 14 KarPro stores. On October 1, 2001, O'Reilly purchased Mid-State Automotive Distributors, Inc., adding 82 additional auto parts stores in seven states, as well as two distribution centers. The acquisition made the firm one of the top five auto parts chains in the country. It added its eleventh distribution center in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in March 2005. On May 31, 2005, O'Reilly purchased Midwest Automotive Distributors, Inc., adding 72 retail locations in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, as well as two distribution centers located in Minnesota and Montana. On July 11, 2008, the company completed the largest acquisition in its history with the purchase of

CSK Auto CSK Auto, Inc. was a specialty retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the western United States. CSK Auto became a publicly traded company in March 1998, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew through a combination of acquisitions ...

, adding 1,273 stores in 12 states. This, combined with past acquisitions, made O’Reilly the third largest auto parts chain in the country after

Advance Auto Parts Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (Advance) is an American automotive aftermarket parts provider. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, it serves both professional installer and do it yourself (DIY) customers. As of July 13, 2019, Advance operated ...

and

AutoZone AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has over 6,400 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the US Virgin Is ...

. In December 2012, O'Reilly announced it was purchasing the auto parts business of

VIP Parts, Tires and Service VIP Tires and Service, previously known as VIP Parts, Tires andService, before the auto part business segment purchase by O'Reilly Auto Parts in December 2012. Prior to the O'Reilly purchase, VIP was the largest independently owned automotive afte ...

, a Lewiston,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

-based chain of 56 auto parts stores and service centers with locations in Maine,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and one distribution center in Maine. The purchase marked the firm's expansion into

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. In August 2016, O'Reilly entered the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

market with the acquisition of the five-store Frank's Auto Supermarket chain. O'Reilly Auto Parts Ypsilanti

On October 26, 2016, O'Reilly announced that it was acquiring Bond Auto Parts, a 51-store chain headquartered in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

with locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

as well. On November 13, 2018, O'Reilly announced that it was acquiring Florida-based Bennett Auto Supply, a 33-store chain headquartered in Pompano Beach. On August 20, 2019, O'Reilly Auto announced it would acquireMexico's Mayasa Auto Parts. This marked the company's first venture into international markets. Mayasa had five distribution centers, 20 company stores, and more than 2000 independent jobber locations throughout Mexico.''O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. to Acquire Mayasa Auto Parts Headquartered in Guadalajara, Mexico''
August 20, 2019 Press Release; Global News Wire; accessed December 2020 In late May 2020, several O'Reilly Auto parts stores were damaged by vandalism and looting during the

George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Local protests over the murder of George Floyd (sometimes called the Minneapolis riots or Minneapolis uprising) began on May 26, 2020, and quickly inspired a global protest movement against police brutality and racial inequality. The initial ...

, with five stores being destroyed by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O'reilly Auto Parts, Inc. Automotive part retailers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Missouri American companies established in 1957 Retail companies established in 1957 1957 establishments in Missouri Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies based in Springfield, Missouri 1993 initial public offerings

History

Expansion

Mergers and acquisitions

See also

References

External links