tops in the fast lube industry rankings - 2011

18 www.noln.net

www.seafoamsales.com

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

SFM_BannerAd_1ƒ.pdf 1 2/7/11 2:39 PM

Longtime readers of National Oil & Lube News know that if there is one thing in the fast oil change industry that has proven to be consistent during the years it has been

our Tops in the Industry Rankings. Every year, we undertake an extensive research project to identify and rank every chain of fast lube stores in the nation.

We call this project, as mentioned above, the “Tops in the In-dustry” list, and it has proven over the years to be remarkably consistent. How consistent? Well, the top four oil change chains (Jiffy Lube, Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Texaco Xpress Lube) have remained unchanged since 2003, when Kwik Kar briefly supplanted Xpress Lube in the number four spot. Save for a brief three-year stint from 2005-2007 when Valvoline Express Care supplanted Kwik Kar in the number five spot, the top five lube chains haven’t changed position since 2004.

But that’s not the case this year.Before we delve into the numbers, however, we first have to de-

fine the terms we use in this study. For starters, what exactly is a “fast lube” facility? Well, we classify a fast lube as any business that derives the majority of its sales from quick, convenient oil changes

and other automotive preventive maintenance services. And while there are a ton of companies out there offering quick oil change services, many of them generate the majority of their sales from services other than oil changes/auto maintenance. That’s why a company like Walmart, whose Tire & Lube Express facilities gener-ate only piddling sales compared to the company as a whole, is not listed as a fast lube chain, but rather in a separate listing we call “oil change-plus” chains. This oil change-plus list includes facilities like tune-up shops, tire shops, carwashes, co-branded facilities, etc. that perform quick oil changes, but generally not as a majority of their overall sales.

We do not require that a fast lube meet the traditional architec-tural definition of a quick lube, however. That is, it doesn’t necessar-ily have to be a roll-in, roll-out multi-bay shop with a pit/basement system. A converted muffler shop with 10 bays and nothing but lifts would qualify as long as the primary focus of the business is pro-viding consumers with quick oil changes and other maintenance services. By our way of thinking, it’s still a fast lube.

This definition is, admittedly, broader than that used by some entities, but we maintain that if a majority of a facility’s income is

ALL SHOOK UP

by Garrett McKinnonNOLN Staff Writer

Despite Changes at the Top, Our 2011 Tops in the Industry Study Shows a Segment in Growth Mode

20 www.noln.net


C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K


-1% 2,013

3% 897

n/a

1% 395

*

2% 365

3%

0%

8% 201

-4% 196

-10% 194

n/a

1% 90

56%

0% 74

0% 73

43% 51

0% 39

0% 39

0% 39

6% 37

0% 31

400% 37

-9% 29

NEW 31

0% 29

4% 27

5% 26

0% 24

–5%

0% 21

Growth Since 2/28/10

Stores Projected by 12/11TOP FAST LUBE CHAINS — 2011

ProjectionUnavailable


derived from quick oil changes and other maintenance work, that facility should be called a fast lube.

The second term we must define is “chain.” For our purpos-es, a fast lube chain is any six or more fast lube facilities owned by the same company/individual/business entity and/or oper-ated under the same or similar signage. That’s why a brand like Havoline xpress lube (nee Texaco Xpress Lube), which is ac-tually comprised of individual owner/operators who have en-tered into an agreement with Chevron to use Havoline xpress lube signage, is grouped together as a chain.

Further, we frequently run across independent lube opera-tions that might own six or more of these branded facilities. To avoid double-counting those shops, we group them in a sepa-rate listing we call “Associated Lube Chains.”

We would be remiss not to mention the sponsorship of this year’s Tops in the Industry study, as well. Ordinarily, we pub-lish only select data in the magazine, reserving information on oil change-plus companies, industry sales, overall store popu-lation, etc. for a report available for sale or free to paid sub-scribers to the magazine. Thanks to Sea Foam’s sponsorship of this year’s survey, however, we are able to bring readers the full survey.

One final note before we examine the data: In most instanc-es, the information we publish was reported to us directly from the companies or from independent sources we deem reliable. However, in a few instances where companies were unable to furnish reliable data, we have used estimates based on our own proprietary database of fast lube facilities. All information is believed accurate and current as of Feb. 28, 2011.

And now on to the data.

Shakeup at the Top: Fast Lubes 2011As we mentioned above, the top five lube chains on our list have not varied much in recent years, but this year four of the five changed positions.

Fear not, as Jiffy Lube remains the nation’s largest fast lube chain, but not even that status immunizes the company from feeling the effects of a sluggish economy, as the overall popula-tion of Jiffy Lube facilities declined by 13 compared with last year despite aggressive growth by a number of Jiffy Lube fran-chisees.

Where the changes start is in the second spot. Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, Shell’s largest branded lube program, had held down the second spot on our Tops list since 1996. However, based on internal estimates of the chain’s population, it has become clear the chain has declined in size in recent years, and now ranks third behind the Valvoline Instant Oil Change chain, which is comprised of both company-owned and franchised locations. With nearly 900 locations, VIOC now holds the honor of being the nation’s second-largest fast lube chain.

We also saw a shakeup in the fourth and fifth spots, with

SSSSSSSS

SSSSSSSSS

SSS

SSSS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

22

23

24

27

28

29

30






Chart continued, page 22

Jiffy Lube, TXTotal Stores: 1,963 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised:1,963 2010 Rank: 1 Valvoline Instant Oil Change, KYTotal Stores: 872 Co. Owned: 257 / Franchised: 615 2010 Rank: 3Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TXTotal Stores: 750† Independent: 750 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 2 Kwik Kar, TXTotal Stores: 390 Independent: 390 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 5 Havoline xpress lube, CATotal Stores: 350 Independent: 350 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 4Valvoline Express Care, KYTotal Stores: 342 Independent: 342 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 6Mobil 1 Lube Express, VATotal Stores: 330 Independent: 330 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 7ConocoPhillips Lube Shop, TXTotal Stores: 186 Independent: 186 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 11Express Oil Change & Service Center, ALTotal Stores: 186 Co. Owned: 76 / Franchised: 110 2010 Rank: 12Grease Monkey, COTotal Stores: 186 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 186 2010 Rank: 10CITGO Fast Lube, TXTotal Stores: 179 Independent: 179 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 9Shell Rapid Lube, TXTotal Stores: 175† Independent: 175 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 8Oil Can Henry’s, ORTotal Stores: 88 Co. Owned: 28 / Franchised: 60 2010 Rank: 13Castrol Premium Lube Express, NJTotal Stores: 81 Independent: 81 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 16 EZ Lube Fast Oil Change Experts, CATotal Stores: 74 Co. Owned: 74 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 14American LubeFast, GATotal Stores: 73 Co. Owned: 73 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 15Super Lube, FLTotal Stores: 50 Co. Owned: 31 / Franchised: 19 2010 Rank: 18Lube Stop, OHTotal Stores: 37 Co. Owned: 37 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 17LubePro’s, ILTotal Stores: 34 Co. Owned: 15 / Franchised: 19 2010 Rank: 19Oil Changers, CATotal Stores: 34 Co. Owned: 15 / Franchised: 19 2010 Rank: 19Victory Lane Quick Oil Change, MITotal Stores: 34 Co. Owned: 3 / Franchised: 31 2010 Rank: 21Speed Lube, ILTotal Stores: 31 Co. Owned: 31 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 23Mystik Service Center, TXTotal Stores: 30 Independent: 30 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50Performance Plus Quick Lube, MITotal Stores: 29 Co. Owned: 29 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 21Snappy Lube, NCTotal Stores: 29 Co. Owned: 29 / Franchised: 0 Uncle Ed’s Oil Shoppe, MITotal Stores: 29 Co. Owned: 29 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 24Take 5 Oil Change, LATotal Stores: 25 Co. Owned: 25 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 25 Oilstop Drive-Thru Oil Center, CATotal Stores: 23 Co. Owned: 11 / Franchised: 12 2010 Rank: 26Express Lube, TXTotal Stores: 22 Co. Owned: 22 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 26Prompto 10-Minute Oil Change, METotal Stores: 21 Co. Owned: 21 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 26Terrible Herbst, NVTotal Stores: 21 Co. Owned: 21 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 29

22 www.noln.net


C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K


7% 16

0% 15

36%

0% 15

0% 14

0% 13

-7% 13

-7% 13

0% 12

NEW 12

0% 11

0% 11

0% 10

0% 10

0% 9

0% 9

-27% 8

0% 7

-13% 7

0% 7

0% 6

0% 7

Growth Since 2/28/10

Stores Projected by 12/11TOP FAST LUBE CHAINS, continued

SS

SS

S

S

S

S

SS

S

32

33

36

37

40

42

44

46

48

49

52

TOP ASSOCIATED CHAINS — 2011

SSSSSS

S

S

1

2

3

45

6

7

9

North Florida Lube, FL (62 Havoline xpress lube, 2 NFL Xpress Lube) Total Stores: 64 Southern Express Lube, FL (37 Mobil Lube Express, 4 Shell Rapid Lube) Total Stores: 41

Pioneer Quick Lube, MI (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change) Total Stores: 25

Fast Change Lube & Oil, KY (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change) Total Stores: 21

Speed Lube 10-Minute Oil Change, IL (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change) Total Stores: 16

Lighthouse Lube, WI (Mobil 1 Lube Express) Total Stores: 13

Express Automotive Group, TX (Texaco Xpress Lube) Total Stores: 11

Grease Lightning (7 Castrol Premium Lube Express, 1 Oil Doctor, 3 Grease Lightning) Total Stores: 11

Automasters of Asheboro, NC (Valvoline Express Care) Total Stores: 9

Sayle Oil Co., MS (Shell Rapid Lube) Total Stores: 9

*Texaco Xpress Lubes in process of rebranding to Havoline xpress lube †: estimate n/a: not applicable

Kwik Kar, the loose network of same-named but independent-ly owned shops, moving up into fourth position, its highest ranking since 2003. In all, Kwik Kar’s store population grew by four facilities last year. What created the jump in ranking, however, was the turmoil associated with the Texaco Xpress Lube chain. Last spring, Chevron announced that this chain of independently owned shops would be rebranded as Havo-line xpress lubes (yes, the lowercase is correct per Chevron’s request). The net effect of such an undertaking is that some 350 facilities are now affiliated with the Havoline xpress lube brand, down from approximately 450 that were affiliated with the Texaco Xpress Lube brand.

Beyond the top spots, there was notable movement by other companies/brands, as well. For instance, Castrol’s Premium Lube Express branded program was the facility growth cham-pion last year, expanding by 29 total shops and moving up two spots on the list to crack the top 15. Meanwhile, CITGO’s Mys-tik Service Center was the percentage growth champion, ex-panding by 24 total shops for a 400 percent growth rate, which moved the chain from 50th position to 23rd in just 12 months.

Other notable “gainers” were the aforementioned VIOC, which grew by 22 shops; the Mobil 1 Lube Express signage chain, which grew by 10 stores; Express Oil Change, which added 14 facilities; and Super Lube, which grew by 15 facilities. In all, 14 of the 53 chains on our list (or 26 percent) reported expanding or adding facilities during the past year. In addi-tion, 25 chains reported no change in their facility population, meaning nearly three-fourths of the chains on our list either added stores or remained unchanged, a positive sign for the industry.

However, there were a dozen chains that reported closing or selling facilities. We’ve already discussed the Pennzoil 10-Min-ute Oil Change program, but we also estimate the Shell Rapid Lube signage program has declined in recent years. Together with the Havoline xpress lube program, these three signage chains represent the lion’s share of the chains that lost facilities compared to last year’s rankings.

Other notable decliners were CITGO’s Fast Lube signage program, which declined by some 20 shops (though some of those may simply have converted to the Mystik brand); Grease

Mystik Service Center

went from having

only six facilities

to 30 facilities,

a 400 percent

increase.

FASLube Oil Change Center, OHTotal Stores: 16 Co. Owned: 16 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 30Fast Eddie’s Oil Change, MITotal Stores: 15 Co. Owned: 15 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 30Lube ‘n Go, TXTotal Stores: 15 Co. Owned: 15 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 39Oil Express, ILTotal Stores: 15 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 7 2010 Rank: 30Time-It Lube, LATotal Stores: 14 Co. Owned: 14 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 33Duke of Oil, INTotal Stores: 13 Co. Owned: 13 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 36Grease Spot, ILTotal Stores: 13 Co. Owned: 13 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 33QuickChange, OHTotal Stores: 13 Co. Owned: 11 / Franchised: 2 2010 Rank: 33 Avis Lube Fast Oil Change Center, TXTotal Stores: 12 Co. Owned: 12 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 37Fast Track Oil Change Center, WITotal Stores: 12 Co. Owned: 12 / Franchised: 0Grease Pro Express Lube, FLTotal Stores: 11 Co. Owned: 11 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 39The Lube Center, MDTotal Stores: 11 Co. Owned: 11 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 39 National Lube Express, TXTotal Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 43QuikStop Oilube, KYTotal Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 43Super Lube, TXTotal Stores: 9 Co. Owned: 9 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 45UMC dba Speedy Lube/Zap Lube, NYTotal Stores: 9 Co. Owned: 9 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 45Mr. Good Lube - New Jersey’s Oil Change Ctr., NJTotal Stores: 8 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 39Mr. Fast Lube, ARTotal Stores: 7 Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 48Mr. Lubie, INTotal Stores: 7 Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 47Prontolube, TXTotal Stores: 7 Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0 Bradzoil 10 Minute Oil Change, TXTotal Stores: 6 Co. Owned: 6 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50Toot n’ Totum, TXTotal Stores: 6 Co. Owned: 6 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50


24 www.noln.net


Monkey, which declined by eight facilities; and Performance Plus Quick Lube, which declined by three facilities. In all, most companies that reported a decline in store population saw only a modest reduction, a sign that the industry has stabilized after a difficult economic period. (More on that later in the article.)

Our research did uncover a pair of new fast lube chains: North Carolina-based Snappy Lube, a company with nearly 30 stores that somehow had eluded our attention until now; and Wisconsin-based Fast Track Oil Change Centers. Those two additions to our list almost replaced three companies that dropped off: New York-based FastTrack, whose 12 shops were purchased piecemeal by other companies; Illinois-based Brahler Lube Centers, which sold one store and dropped to five total, keeping them just under the minimum for inclusion on our list; and Texas Oil X-Change, which was purchased by a major franchise company just as this issue was going to press.

On the Associated Chains list, our research uncovered two companies: Wisconsin-based Lighthouse Lube, with 13 Mo-bil 1 Lube Express facilities in operation; and New York-based Grease Lightning, which operates a total of 11 facilities, in-cluding seven Castrol Premium Lube Express stores.

In addition to information on U.S.-owned foreign fast lube chains and truck lube chains, we’ve also introduced a listing of international fast lube chains. Though it can be difficult to categorize a foreign company as a “fast lube” — indeed, the largest company on this new list, United Kingdom-based Kwik Fit, would be more akin to an oil change-plus company in the United States — we did track down no fewer than nine Cana-dian fast lube chains. Expect this list to grow in coming years as our research improves.

Shaken, Not Stirred: Oil Change-Plus RankingsWhile the top five chains on the fast lube list showed some fluc-tuation, the top five chains in our oil change-plus list remained the same — with a caveat. While two of the top five (Bridges-tone Retail and TBC Retail Group) each added more than 35 facilities, the remaining chains in the top five (Walmart Tire & Lube Express, Goodyear Tire & Service, and Midas Auto Service Experts) each declined by a minimum of 74 facilities (estimated in Walmart’s case).

We’ve tracked the sudden de-emphasis of Walmart’s Tire & Lube Express chain for the past two years. After growing rap-idly (an estimated 1,200 T&LE facilities in 2000 to more than 2,500 last year), the retail giant has apparently shifted gears. They were reluctant to share the total number of T&LE fa-cilities in operation with us, but published statements by the company put the number somewhere around the 2,450 we are reporting, a sizable decline from the more than 2,500 reported last year.

Elsewhere, Midas saw the greatest decline in store popula-tion on the oil change-plus list, as its store population shrank by some 87 facilities, or 6 percent, during the past year.

Growth Since 2/28/10TOP OIL CHANGE-PLUS CHAINS ’11

SS

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

SSS

SSSSSSS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

21

22

23

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Walmart Tire & Lube Express, AR 1

Total Stores: 2,450 Co. Owned: 2,450 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 1Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, IL2

Total Stores: 2,149 Co. Owned: 2,149 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 2 Goodyear Tire & Service Network Outlets, OHTotal Stores: 1,834 Co. Owned: 1,834 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 3Midas Auto Service Experts, IL3

Total Stores: 1,491 Co. Owned: 102 / Franchised: 1,389 2010 Rank: 4 TBC Retail Group, FL4

Total Stores: 1,245 Co. Owned: 820 / Franchised: 425 2010 Rank: 5Meineke Car Care Center, NC 5

Total Stores: 916 Co. Owned: 17 / Franchised: 899 2010 Rank: 6Sears Auto Centers, ILTotal Stores: 850 Co. Owned: 850 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 7Aamco Transmissions & Total Car Care, PATotal Stores: 837 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 837 2010 Rank: 7Monro Muffler Brake & Service, NY 6

Total Stores: 739 Co. Owned: 739 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 10Pep Boys, PATotal Stores: 614 Co. Owned: 614 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 11Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center (Ford), MITotal Stores: 600 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 600 2010 Rank: 12Tuffy/Car X Auto Service Center, OHTotal Stores: 389 Co. Owned: 30 / Franchised: 359 2010 Rank: 13Precision Tune Auto Care, VATotal Stores: 264 Co. Owned: 20 / Franchised: 244 2010 Rank: 14AutoNation, FLTotal Stores: 242 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 242 2010 Rank: 15All Tune & Lube, MD 7

Total Stores: 209 Co. Owned: 1 / Franchised: 208 2010 Rank: 16CarMax, VATotal Stores: 104 Co. Owned: 104 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 17Brake Masters, AZTotal Stores: 91 Co. Owned: 56 / Franchised: 35 2010 Rank: 18Big 10 Tire Store, ALTotal Stores: 84 Co. Owned: 84 / Franchised: 0 Christian Brothers Automotive, TXTotal Stores: 83 Co. Owned: 3 / Franchised: 80 2010 Rank: 21Lithia Motors, Inc., ORTotal Stores: 83 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 83 2010 Rank: 19Purrfect Auto Service, CATotal Stores: 73 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 73 2010 Rank: 20VIP Parts, Tires & Service, METotal Stores: 56 Co. Owned: 56 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 25Brakes Plus Complete Auto Service, COTotal Stores: 55 Co. Owned: 55 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 26Merlin 200,000 Mile Shops, ILTotal Stores: 55 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 45 2010 Rank: 23Strauss Discount Auto, NJTotal Stores: 48 Co. Owned: 48 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 23Lee Myles Transmission & Auto Care, NJTotal Stores: 44 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 44 2010 Rank: 27Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Center, MITotal Stores: 43 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 43 2010 Rank: 28 Tire-Rama, MTTotal Stores: 40 Co. Owned: 40 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 29Tilden Your Total Car Care Center, NYTotal Stores: 35 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 35 2010 Rank: 22Commercial Tire, IDTotal Stores: 34 Co. Owned: 34 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 32Conrad’s Tire Express 7 Total Car Care, OHTotal Stores: 31 Co. Owned: 31 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 33

-3%

2%

-4%

-6%

4%

-1%

0%

-2%

<1%

5%

5%

-6%

-1%

-2%

0%

4%

2%

NEW

26%

-2%

-9%

0%

4%

-7%

-19%

0%

5%

0%

-44%

0%

0%

Chart continued, page 26

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K


26 www.noln.net


C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K


Growth Since 2/28/10TOP OIL CHANGE-PLUS CHAINS, cont.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

S

S

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

49

511estimate2dba Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus Total Car Care, Expert Tire and Wheel Works.3also dba as SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune-Up. Some stores co-branded.4dba Tire Kingdom, NTB–National Tire and Battery, Merchant’s Tire and Auto Centers, and Big O Tires.5dba Econo Lube N’ Tune & Brakes and Meineke Car Care Center. Some stores co-branded.6also dba Mr. Tire, TreadQuarters Discount Tire and Autotire Car Care Center. 7figures obtained from third-party source8chain owned by two separate entities.

-19%

8%

8%

NEW

0%

-15%

0%

-17%

0%

0%

25%

8%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

33%

NEW

In all, 15 of the 51 chains on the oil change-plus list recorded an increase in store population, led by TBC Retail, which grew by an impressive 45 facilities. Other notable “gainers” were Pep Boys, which grew by 27 service facilities; Ford’s Quick Lane, which grew by 28; and Christian Brothers Automotive, which grew by 17 franchised facilities.

While 17 chains on the oil change-plus list were unchanged from last year, 16 saw declines in service center facility popu-lation, led by the aforementioned Midas and Walmart. Other notable decliners were: Tuffy/Car-X, which shrank by 24 facili-ties; Strauss Discount Auto, which declined by 11 shops; and Tilden Your Total Car Care Center, which saw its store popula-tion decline by 27, or a whopping 44 percent reduction.

In addition, we added three new chains to the list: Big 10 Tire Stores, which have entered the auto service arena in a big way; Honest-1 Auto Care, a franchise company with 25 fran-chised facilities in operation; and Woodie’s Auto Service, a North Carolina chain with seven facilities.

There is one other notable change to this year’s oil change-plus rankings: It contains no dealerships (the 600 Ford Quick Lane centers are generally dealership owned, but operated separately from dealership service centers). The reason for this exclusion is that with Toyota’s recent cancelling of its Toyota Express Lube program, and GM’s ending of the GM Good-wrench program, dealerships seem to have largely moved out of the quick oil change arena. To be sure many still perform quick oil changes, but not on a corporate basis.

We are in the process, however, of researching the exact number of service facilities each automotive brand operates. However, at press time we had not yet acquired enough data to publish a thorough listing of dealership service facilities, a condition we aim to rectify in time for the 2012 edition of our Tops in the Industry rankings.

Shake, Rattle and Roll: Estimating the Industry’s SizeEvery year as part of our Tops in the Industry study, we es-timate the fast lube industry’s overall facility population and sales. We calculate facility population using a carefully honed formula that takes into account the increasing gray area that

Milex Complete Auto Care, ILTotal Stores: 30 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 30 2010 Rank: 30Tunex Complete Car Care, UTTotal Stores: 28 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 28 2010 Rank: 34Sun Devil Auto, AZ 7

Total Stores: 27 Co. Owned: 27 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 35Honest-1 Auto Care, AZTotal Stores: 25 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 25 Mister Hotshine Carwash & Lube Center, AZTotal Stores: 24 Co. Owned: 24 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 36Quality Tune-Up Shops, CA8

Total Stores: 22 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 14 2010 Rank: 31Wash Depot/Simoniz Car Wash, MATotal Stores: 21 Co. Owned: 21 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 38Lentz USA Automotive Service Centers, MITotal Stores: 19 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 9 2010 Rank: 37King Bear Auto Service Centers, NY 7

Total Stores: 17 Co. Owned: 2 / Franchised: 15 2010 Rank: 39City Garage, TXTotal Stores: 16 Co. Owned: 16 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 40Tune Up Plus/Quality Car Care/Harris Tire Service, VATotal Stores: 15 Co. Owned: 15 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 41Car Care Clinic, MSTotal Stores: 13 Co. Owned: 13 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 41Danny’s Family Car Wash, AZTotal Stores: 12 Co. Owned: 12 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 41Delta Sonic Car Wash/Sonic Lube, NYTotal Stores: 11 Co. Owned: 11 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 44Car Spa, TXTotal Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 45LMC Carwash & Lube, NYTotal Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 10 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 45Mr. Clean Car Wash, GA Total Stores: 10 Co. Owned: 0 / Franchised: 10 2010 Rank: 45Raffield Tire-Master, GATotal Stores: 8 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 48Savannah Tire Brake & Alignment, GATotal Stores: 8 Co. Owned: 8 / Franchised: 0 2010 Rank: 50Woodie’s Auto Service, NCTotal Stores: 7 Co. Owned: 7 / Franchised: 0

28 www.noln.net


TRUCK LUBE CHAINS — 2011

SSSSSS

SS

1

2

3

45

6

78

TA Maintenance Shops Total Stores: 165 Petro:Lube Total Stores: 58

Speedco Total Stores: 48

Bosselman dba Boss Truck Shops Total Stores: 34

Pilot Truck Center Total Stores: 32

Sullivan Truck Center Total Stores: 15

Zippy Lube-A-Truck Total Stores: 9

Truck PM Plus Total Stores: 8

U.S.-BASED LUBE CHAINS RANKED BYNUMBER OF FOREIGN FACILITES — 2011

SSSSSS

SSSS

S

1

2

3

45

6

78

9

10

11

Mobil 1 Centers, VA Total Stores: 2,081

Texaco/Caltex Xpress Lube (ChevronTexaco), CA Total Stores: 1,432 Midas Auto Service Experts, IL Total Stores: 940 Walmart Tire & Lube Express, AR Total Stores: 266 Precision Tune Auto Care, VA Total Stores: 82 Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX Total Stores: 75 SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune-Up, LA Total Stores: 65 Grease Monkey, CO Total Stores: 61 Meineke Car Care Centers, NC Total Stores: 58Jiffy Lube, TX Total Stores: 45Aamco Transmissions, PA Total Stores: 15

SSSSSS

SSSSS

S

1

2

3

45

6

78

9

10

11

12

INTERNATIONAL FAST LUBE CHAINS — 2011Kwik-Fit, U.K./EUROPE Total Stores: 1,800 National Tyre & Autocare, U.K. Total Stores: 200Petromin Express, SAUDI ARABIA Total Stores: 135

Mr. Lube, CAN Total Stores: 102

Lube-X, CAN Total Stores: 51

Great Canadian Oil Change, CAN Total Stores: 42

Oil Changers, CAN Total Stores: 25

Lube City, CAN Total Stores: 20

Just Lubes, CAN Total Stores: 14

Economy Lube, CAN Total Stores: 11

Minit Lube, CAN Total Stores: 7Lube World, CAN Total Stores: 6

exists between a “true” fast lube (i.e. those companies with fa-cilities represented on our fast lube rankings) and oil change-plus facilities. In other words, the formula attempts to take into account the fact that many more oil change-plus shops are moving toward inclusion in the fast lube category simply because they are deriving more and more of their income from automotive maintenance. We recognize that while companies may be included in the oil change-plus category, many of their individual stores will, in fact, be counted as fast lubes based on their share of auto maintenance work.

To that end, we estimate that as of March 1, 2011 there were approximately 16,716 fast lube facilities in operation, an in-crease of 185 facilities, or 1.1 percent. Not all of this increase in facility population can be attributed to brick-and-mortar construction, as we estimate the majority comes from an in-creasing overlap of oil change-plus facilities into the fast lube sector. However, the formula clearly estimates that the overall fast lube sector grew in 2010, the first growth recorded in the sector’s facility population in more than three years.

Using the average car count and ticket average figures from our 2010 Fast Lube Operators Survey, we estimate industry sales will be approximately $9.027 billion this year, an increase of nearly $100 million from last year. Much of that sales in-crease will come from the fast lube sector’s growing market share, which stands at an estimated 30-35 percent of the total installed auto maintenance market (a figure that has increased in recent years due in part to the decline in the number of new-car dealerships).

Other pertinent figures that help define the fast lube industry:• The average fast lube customer changes his or her motor oil every 4,419 miles.• Between 2008 and 2010, only 3 percent of installed customers extended their oil change intervals. (Source: Frost & Sullivan)• In 2010, 75.4 percent of all automotive service events were attributed to the installed market. (Source: IMR Inc.)• The average age of U.S. passenger cars and light trucks stands at 10.2 years, and U.S. drivers are keeping their vehicles an av-erage of nearly 50 months, a 10 percent increase from 2008. (Source: R.L. Polk)

All in all, the fast lube industry has been like any other the past few years, as companies have struggled to balance suc-cess against a challenging economy. For some companies, this has meant paring unprofitable operations to focus more re-sources on those facilities that are moneymakers. For others, it has meant taking advantage of favorable market conditions to buy existing businesses on the cheap, expanding their market presence and overall business. When all the shaking up of the industry rankings is complete, however, it reveals that the fast lube sector, in particular, is in good shape, with strong healthy companies focused on growing as the economy improves. And that is a good place to be. S

Thank you for participating in this year’s survey. If you were not included and would like to be, please call Misty Dolan at 800.796.2577 or e-mail: [email protected]

tops in the fast lube industry rankings - 2011

Documents