Advance Auto Parts to close more than 700 locations

(NEXSTAR) — A national auto parts retailer plans to close more than 700 locations as part of "a strategic plan to improve business performance."

Advance Auto Parts, which has more than 4,700 stores across nearly every state, announced the decision as part of its third-quarter update to investors.

“We are charting a clear path forward and introducing a new three-year financial plan, with a focus on executing core retail fundamentals to improve the productivity of all our assets and to create shareholder value," Shane O’Kelly, president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.

The company's footprint is expected to be cut by 523 Advance Auto Parts corporate stores, 204 independent locations and four distribution centers, the press release noted.

A list of stores expected to shutter was not immediately available. Advance Auto Parts has more than 500 locations in Florida, more than in any other state. In seven states — Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia — there are more than 200 locations.

Advance Auto Parts also plans to standardize its "store operating model" and improve "labor productivity," while accelerating "in pace of new store openings." According to Thursday's update, the company plans to open 60 market hub locations by mid-2027.

CNN reports that Advance Auto Parts lowered its full-year outlook again after previously citing "the weight of an uncertain macroeconomic climate" consumers "continue to feel." The company recently sold Worldpac, an auto parts wholesaler, for $1.5 billion.

Advance Auto Parts, which has been around for nearly a decade, joins a growing list of retailers that have announced store closures this year. For some, like Big Lots, Dirt Cheap and TGI Fridays, the closures came as part of bankruptcy filings. For others, like Wendy's, Denny's and Walgreens, the impending closures are intended to boost the company's overall financial performance.