Music Edition - National Oil and Lube News

2015 TOPS IN THE INDUSTRY RANKINGS:
by Amanda Bowman l NOLN Staff Writer l amanda.bowman@noln.net
Music
Edition
M
usic is a universal language.
It speaks to everyone in
some form or fashion. And
just like language, music
has its own dialects — or genres, to be
more specific. This is how I perceive the
automotive industry, anyway. An eclectic
mix of genres all encompassing one major
theme: cars.
Whether your genre sticks to what it
knows best, such as rock ’n roll, or goes
off the beaten path, like country, the
automotive industry plays on.
Every year, we undertake an extensive
research program to identify and rank the
top auto service chains in the nation —
and around the world.
Before we examine the rankings,
however, we first have to define 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. Businesses that merely offer oil
changes as an additional service (i.e. a
tune-up shop, mass merchant retailer, tire
store, etc.) fall into another category.
We do not require a fast lube to meet
the traditional architectural definition of
a quick lube, however. That is, it doesn’t
necessarily 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 providing customers with quick oil
changes and other maintenance services.
By our way of thinking, it’s still a fast lube.
While this definition is broader than
that used by some entities, we maintain
that if a majority of a facility’s income is
derived from quick oil changes and other
maintenance work, that facility should be
called a fast lube.
What about facilities that have dual
profit centers, like a carwash/fast lube, cobranded facilities like Midas/SpeeDee or
tire stores that also have lube bay or two?
To clarify this gray area, we categorize
these facilities as “oil change-plus” shops.
This category also includes muffler shops,
auto repair shops, mass merchant retailers,
etc. All these places will change oil, but it’s
not their primary business model.
The second term we must define is a
“chain.” For our purposes, a fast lube chain
is any six or more fast lube facilities owned
by the same company/individual/business
entity and/or operated under the same or
similar signage. That’s why a brand like
Havoline xpress lube, which is actually
comprised of individual owner/operators
who have entered into an agreement with
Havoline to use xpress lube signage, is
grouped together as a chain.
Further, we frequently run across
independent lube operations that might
16 NOLN | www.noln.net
NOL_1-25.indd 16
2/26/15 5:22 PM
own six or more of these
branded facilities. To avoid
double-counting those shops,
we group them into a separate
listing we call “Associated Lube
Chains.”
Also, we’d like to mention
the sponsorship of this year’s
Tops in the Industry study.
Sometimes, we publish only
select data in the magazine,
reserving information about
oil change-plus companies,
industry sales, overall store
population, etc. for a report
Texas-based Mystik
Service Center chalked
up a 92 percent increase
in store population,
adding 11 shops during
2014.
One new fast lube chain
made the list this year:
California-based SynFast
Oil Change.
available for sale or free to paid
subscribers. However, thanks
to Amsoil’s sponsorship, we are
able to bring readers the full
study.
One final note before
we examine the data: The
information we publish was
reported to us directly from
the companies we contacted or
from independent sources we
deem reliable. It is believed to
be accurate and current as of
February 28, 2015.
Article continued on page 22
18 NOLN | www.noln.net
NOL_1-25.indd 18
TOP 53 FAST LUBE CHAINS OPERATING IN 2015
(LIST INCLUDES ONLY THOSE OPERATIONS REPORTING SIX OR MORE FACILITIES)
2015 2014
Rank Rank
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
6
6
7
7
5
8
9
9
8
10
10
11
11
12
12
13
14
14
13
15
15
16
16
17
18
18
17
19
18
20
18
21
23
22
21
23
25
21
25
26
24
27
25
28
37
27
27
31
29
32
30
33
31
34
32
35
33
36
33
33
33
39
37
40
43
40
40
43
40
44
44
46
47
47
46
48
48
51
48
48
48
53
37
53
48
Facility Signage/
Company Headquarters
Jiffy Lube, TX
Valvoline Instant Oil Change, KY
Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX1
Kwik Kar, TX
Valvoline Express Care, KY
Havoline xpress lube, CA
Mobil 1 Lube Express, VA
Grease Monkey, CO
Express Oil Change & Service Center, AL
Phillips 66 (formely ConocoPhillips Lube Shop), TX1
Shell Rapid Lube, TX1
Castrol Premium Lube Express, NJ
Oil Can Henry's, OR
CITGO Fast Lube, TX
Super-Lube, FL
American LubeFast, GA
Take 5 Oil Change, LA
Lube Stop, OH
Snappy Lube, NC
Oil Changers, CA
Victory Lane Quick Oil Change, MI
Performance Plus Quick Lube, MI
Express Lube, TX
Uncle Ed's Oil Shoppe, MI
SynFast Oil Change, CA
Speed Lube, IL
Time-It Lube, LA
Mystik Service Center, TX
Oilstop Drive-Thru Oil Center, CA
Prompto 10-Minute Oil Change, ME
Terrible Herbst, NV
Oil Express, IL
FASLube Oil Change Center, OH
Fast Eddie's Oil Change, MI
Avis Lube Fast Oil Change Center, TX
Duke of Oil, IN
QuikStop Oilube, KY
The Grease Spot, IL
Fast Track Oil Change Center, WI
Lube 'n Go, TX
QuickChange, OH
The Lube Center "10 Minute Oil Change," MD
Grease Pro Express Lube, FL
National Lube Express, TX
UMC dba Speedy Lube/Zap Lube, NY
Toot n’ Totum, TX
Mr. Good Lube 10 Minute Oil Change, NJ1
Bolton Oil Change, TX
Bradzoil 10 Minute Oil Change, TX
Flagship FastLube, HI
Mr. Fast Lube, AR
Sinclair Dino Lube, OK
Solar Lube, FL (Formerly Sonic Lube)
TOTAL
Independent/
Company
Owned
Franchised
0
1,928
272
657
700
0
398
0
315
0
300
0
288
0
53
180
100
109
186
0
175
0
143
0
43
46
0
69
44
10
52
0
37
3
37
0
36
0
15
19
12
20
30
0
29
0
29
0
28
0
26
0
25
0
0
23
12
11
23
0
21
0
15
5
17
0
16
0
14
0
13
0
13
0
13
0
12
0
11
0
11
0
11
0
10
0
10
0
10
0
8
0
7
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
0
6
6
0
3,650
*projection unavailable
3,086
Add't.
Total
Stores
Growth
Operating Projected By Since
2/28/15
12/31/15
2/28/14
1,928
25
-1%
929
25
3%
700
*
-7%
398
7
1%
315
35
2%
300
*
0%
288
*
-8%
233
15
17%
209
8
4%
186
*
0%
175
*
0%
143
0
8%
89
1
1%
69
3
-22%
54
5
-8%
52
0
-2%
40
15
18%
37
*
0%
36
1
6%
34
0
0%
32
6
14%
30
*
3%
29
3
16%
29
0
0%
28
0
NEW
26
0
0%
25
0
0%
23
3
92%
23
2
0%
23
0
0%
21
0
0%
20
0
0%
17
0
0%
16
1
0%
14
0
8%
13
0
0%
13
0
0%
13
0
0%
12
*
0%
11
0
10%
11
0
0%
11
0
0%
10
0
-9%
10
0
11%
10
0
11%
8
*
14%
7
0
-13%
6
0
0%
6
0
0%
6
0
0%
6
0
0%
6
0
-50%
6
0
0%
6,736
155
1
estimate
2/18/15 1:50 PM
TOP 61 OIL CHANGE-PLUS CHAINS OPERATING
Goodyear Tire & Service
Network Outlets reclaimed
the top spot on the Oil
Change-Plus list this year.
Five of the top 10 Oil
Change-Plus chains grew
during 2014: Goodyear Tire
& Service Network Outlets,
Wal-Mart Tire & Lube
Express, Meineke Car Care
Centers, Monro Muffler
Brake & Service and Pep
Boys.
Commercial Tire was the
fastest growing Oil ChangePlus chain during 2014, with
a 41 percent increase.
Jacksons saw 30 percent
growth during 2014,
adding 3 shops.
Four new chains were
added to the Oil ChangePlus list: Jensen Tire & Auto,
Theisen’s Tire & Service
Center, Northwest Tire and
Don Foshay’s Discount Tire.
2015 2014
Rank Rank
1
2
2
1
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
10
9
9
10
8
11
11
12
12
13
13
14
14
15
15
16
16
17
17
18
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
22
22
23
23
24
26
25
24
26
26
27
25
28
34
29
28
30
30
30
32
32
33
29
33
35
35
36
37
35
38
37
39
40
41
42
40
43
40
42
46
46
43
43
48
46
45
50
48
48
52
50
49
50
50
55
50
50
50
58
57
39
57
TOTAL
1
20 NOLN | www.noln.net
NOL_1-25.indd 20
Facility Signage/
Company Headquarters
Goodyear Tire & Service Network Outlets, OH3
Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express, AR
TBC Corp., FL1,3
Firestone Complete Auto Care, IL
Meineke Car Care Center, NC2
Monro Muffler Brake & Service, NY4
Pep Boys, PA
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center (Ford), MI
Aamco Transmissions & Total Car Care, PA2
Sears Auto Centers, IL
Tuffy/Car X Auto Service Center, OH
Precision Tune Auto Care, VA
AutoNation, FL
STS Tire & Auto Centers, NJ3
CarMax, VA
Christian Brothers Automotive, TX
Lithia Motors, Inc., OR
Brake Masters, AZ3
All Tune & Lube, MD3
Purrfect Auto Service, CA
Brakes Plus Complete Auto Service, CO
VIP Parts, Tires & Service, ME
Kauffman Tire, GA
Honest-1 Auto Care, AZ
Merlin 200,000 Mile Shops, IL
Tire-Rama, MT
Lee Myles Transmissions & AutoCare, NJ
Commercial Tire, ID
Conrad's Tire Express & Total Car Care, OH
Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Center, MI
Tilden Your Total Car Care Center, NY
Milex Complete Auto Care, IL
Mister Car Wash & Lube Center, AZ
Sun Devil Auto, AZ
Royal Tire, MN
Quality Tune-Up Shops, CA
Tunex Complete Car Care, UT
Wash Depot/Simoniz Car Wash, MA
Jensen Tire & Auto, NE
Theisen's Tire & Service Center, IA
Northwest Tire, ND
City Garage, TX
Car Care Clinic, MS
Delta Sonic Car Wash/Sonic Lube, NY
Jacksons, AZ (Formerly Danny's Family Car Wash)
Auto Check Complete Car Care, TX
BRAKEmax, AZ
Car Spa, TX
Mr. Clean Car Wash, GA
LMC Carwash & Lube, NY3
Savannah Tire Brake & Alignment, GA
Cobblestone Auto Spa & Quick Lube, AZ
Sawyer Tire Auto Care, MO
Woodie's Auto Service, NC
Discount Inspection and Brakes, TX
Francis & Sons Car Wash, AZ
Raffield Tire-Master, GA
Don Foshay's Discount Tire, ME
Fuller's Carwash & Lube, IL
Lentz USA Automotive Service Centers, MI
Super Lube Complete Car Care Center, OH
Independent/
Company
Owned
Franchised
603
2,006
2,524
0
1,000
1,400
2,210
0
0
974
914
0
805
0
0
681
21
646
623
0
40
304
34
224
0
232
147
0
144
0
2
134
0
125
58
53
0
88
0
70
68
0
56
0
54
0
0
48
0
47
41
0
0
40
38
0
35
0
2
29
0
31
0
30
28
0
28
0
27
0
6
18
0
24
22
0
21
0
19
0
18
0
14
0
13
0
13
0
13
0
12
0
12
0
2
8
0
10
9
0
9
0
8
0
8
0
8
0
7
0
7
0
7
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
9,754
7,222
Total
Oil Change
Facilities
2/28/15
2,609
2,524
2,400
2,210
974
914
805
681
667
623
344
258
232
147
144
136
125
111
88
70
68
56
54
48
47
41
40
38
35
31
31
30
28
28
27
24
24
22
21
19
18
14
13
13
13
12
12
10
10
9
9
8
8
8
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
Growth
Since
2/28/14
8%
3%
0%
0%
8%
4%
1%
-2%
-7%
-18%
-2%
0%
1%
2%
10%
9%
2%
19%
10%
0%
5%
0%
0%
20%
-2%
3%
-5%
41%
3%
0%
0%
0%
-13%
0%
4%
0%
-8%
-8%
NEW
NEW
NEW
0%
-7%
0%
30%
0%
0%
0%
-9%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
NEW
0%
-65%
0%
16,976
dba Tire Kingdom, NTB - National Tire and Battery, Merchant's Tire and Auto Centers, Big O Tires, SpeeDee Oil Change and Tune Up and
Midas Auto Service Experts.
2
Figures obtained from third-party source.
3
Estimate
4
Also dba Mr. Tire, TreadQuarters Discount Tire and Autotire Car Care Center.
2/18/15 2:09 PM
Continued From Page 18
Rock ’n Roll: Fast Lubes 2015
Fast lubes are the rock ’n roll genre of the
automotive industry. It’s timeless, has its
set beats and rhythms and has influenced
countless other genres, while staying true
to itself.
The 53 operating fast lube chains on this
year’s list operate a total of 6,736 facilities,
which is an increase of nine facilities from
last year’s total. Just like how rock ’n roll
has never gone out of style, the quick lube
industry keeps steady on its path. To quote
a line from the AC/DC classic “Rock ’N Roll
Ain’t Noise Pollution,” “Rock ’n roll ain’t
gonna die…rock ’n roll, it will survive.”
Staying at the top of the charts yet again
is Jiffy Lube, which operates 1,928 shops
and had a 1 percent decrease in population
year over year. Jiffy Lube is expected to
open an additional 25 stores in 2015.
Valvoline Instant Oil Change remained at
the No. 2 spot and saw a 3 percent growth.
It’s planning on opening an additional
25 stores and currently operates 929
locations. Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change
and Kwik Kar keep their chart-topping
streak alive with the No. 3 and No. 4 spots,
respectively operating 700 and 398 stores.
The top 10 chains remain the same but
the No. 5 through No. 10 rankings are
slightly mixed up from 2014. Valvoline
Express Care (which saw a 2 percent
growth) and Havoline xpress lube both
jumped two spots from last year to land
the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, respectively.
Mobil 1 Lube Express dropped two places
to No. 7, and Grease Monkey moved up one
position to take the No. 8 place. Express
Oil Change fell one spot to take the No. 9
position, yet it grew by 4 percent. Phillips
66 rounds out the top 10 with the No. 10
spot, staying consistent with their place
last year.
We saw some notable gainers in the
industry this year. The chain blazing up
the charts was Mystik Service Center with
a massive 92 percent growth by adding 11
stores to its repertoire. The Texas-based
chain currently has 23 facilities and is
expected to open an additional three in
2015. Behind Mystik in growth, but still
impressive, is Take 5 Oil Change, which
grew by 18 percent. The Louisiana-based
chain added six new locations for a total of
40 operating stores. Seven more chains saw
double-digit growth during 2014: Grease
Monkey (17 percent), Express Lube (16
percent), Victory Lane (14 percent), Toot
’n Totum (14 percent), UMC dba Speedy
Can Henry’s, Express Oil Change and
Kwik Kar.
One new fast lube chain made its debut
this year. California-based SynFast Oil
Change currently operates 28 locations.
There were a few companies that saw a
moderate decline in store count in 2014.
Sinclair Dino Lube saw a 50 percent
decline, but only because six locations
de-branded. None of those stores closed
TOP ASSOCIATED CHAINS OPERATING
2015
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Total
Growth
Facility Signage/Associated Chain/
Operating Since
Company Headquarters
2/28/15 2/28/14
North Florida Lubes (Havoline xpress lube), FL
64
0%
Pioneer Quick Lube (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change), MI
24
0%
Fast Change Lube & Oil (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change), KY
21
-9%
Automasters of Asheboro (Valvoline Express Care), NC
19
0%
Express Automotive Group (11 Havoline xpress lube, 4 Texas Oil Express, 1 Kwik Kar), TX1
16
0%
Speed Lube 10-Minute Oil Change (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change), IL
15
-6%
Lighthouse Lube (Mobil 1 Lube Express), WI
13
0%
Sayle Oil Co. (9 Shell Rapid Lube, 3 Dipstix), MS
12
0%
estimate
1
U.S.-BASED LUBE CHAINS RANKED BY NUMBER OF
FOREIGN FACILITIES
2015
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Facility Signage/Company Headquarters
2,800
1,432
1,037
266
151
95
75
64
51
10
8
5,989
Mobil 1 Centers, VA
Texaco Havoline xpress lube, CA
Midas Auto Service Experts, IL2
Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express, AR1
Jiffy Lube, TX
Meineke Car Care Centers, NC2
Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX1
Grease Monkey, CO
Precision Tune Auto Care, VA
Aamco Transmissions, PA2
Valvoline Express Care, KY
TOTAL
1
Total
Operating
2/28/15
2
estimate obtained from third-party source
Lube/Zap Lube (11 percent), National
Lube Express (11 percent) and Lube ’n Go
(10 percent).
Other chains that grew over the past
year include: Castrol Premium Express
Lube, Snappy Lube, Avis Lube Fast Oil
Change Center, Performance Plus Quick
Lube, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, Oil
outright. Other companies include:
CITGO (22 percent), Mr. Good Lube 10
Minute Oil Change (13 percent), Grease
Pro (9 percent) Mobil 1 Lube Express (8
percent), Super-Lube (8 percent), Pennzoil
10-Minute Oil Change (7 percent) and
American LubeFast (2 percent).
Music evolves with the times. The bands
22 NOLN | www.noln.net
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2/18/15 1:51 PM
you held near and dear to your heart
might have been — according to your
parents — the work of the devil, and I’m
sure you could say the same about the
music kids listen to now. One thing’s for
sure, though; quick lubes, just like rock ’n
roll, will be around for a long time.
Of the top 52 operating chains, 18 of
them showed growth over the last year,
while only nine of them (which is down
from last year’s 11) showed a decrease
in population. There was one new chain
added, and 25 chains achieved a consistent
store count. This means that 83 percent
of chains in the fast lube industry rocked
out in 2015, seeing growth or no change
in store population — an increase of 5
percent from 2014.
The industry’s associated chains put on
their leather jackets and rocked the 2015
stage, too.
The top eight associated chains remain
the same as last year. Only two chains saw
a moderate decline in store population,
but their place in the rankings remain
the same. No. 3 Fast Change Lube & Oil
currently operates 21 Pennzoil 10-Minute
Oil Changes — a 9 percent decrease from
last year. No. 6 Speed Lube 10-Minute Oil
Change currently operates 15 Pennzoil
10-Minute Oil Change facilities — a 6
percent decline from 2014.
No associated chains saw growth in
2014, but just like any rock band worth
its salt, they’re primed to take back the
spotlight in 2015.
When it comes to U.S.-based lube
chains operating in foreign countries,
Mobil 1 Centers and Texaco Havoline
xpress lube are the major rock stars. Just
like Axl Rose’s beer gut, Mobil 1 Centers
swelled up out of nowhere and added
an impressive 347 foreign locations in
2014, bringing its total to 2,800. Texaco
Havoline xpress lubes stayed steady with
its 1,432 facilities. Midas Auto Service
Experts rounds out the top three chains
with its 1,037 foreign facilities. Three
more companies saw growth in the foreign
sector: Midas Auto Service Experts, Jiffy
Lube and Meineke Car Care Centers. One
new company was added to list. Valvoline
Express Care currently operates eight
foreign facilities.
Country: Oil Change-Plus 2015
“Of emotion, of love, of breakup, of love and
hate and death and dying, mama, apple pie
and the whole thing. It covers a lot of territory, country music does.” — Johnny Cash,
country music legend.
Country music expresses a plethora of
emotions, but there are also numerous
versions of country: bluegrass, country
rock, honky tonk and country-pop
crossovers.
Just like country music, oil change-plus
facilities dabble in a little bit of everything,
including — you guessed it — oil changes.
Goodyear Tire & Service Network
Outlets dethroned Wal-Mart, once again
claiming the No. 1 spot on the Oil ChangePlus list. Goodyear is currently operating
2,609 facilities and observed an 8 percent
growth during last year.
Once again, the top 10 oil changeplus chains of 2014 are also the top 10
oil change-plus chains of 2015, but in a
different order.
Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express fell
one spot to the No. 2 position, thanks
to Goodyear reclaiming the No. 1 spot.
However, Wal-Mart TLE saw a 3 percent
growth from last year, adding an additional
63 stores by either new construction
or integrating a Tire & Lube Express to
current Wal-Mart locations. TBC Corp.
(formerly TBC Retail Group) remained
steady with 2,400 locations and clinched
the No. 3 spot once again.
Five of the top 10 chains saw growth
during 2014: the aforementioned
Goodyear TSNO and Wal-Mart TLE, No.
5 Meineke Car Care Center (8 percent),
No. 6 Monro Muffler Brake & Service (4
percent) and No. 7 Pep Boys (1 percent).
Three of the top 10 chains reported a
decrease in store numbers from 2014 to
2015: No. 8 Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
(2 percent), No. 9 Aamco Transmissions &
Total Car Care (7 percent) and Sears Auto
Centers (18 percent).
One thing to note is even while
decreasing slightly in store count, Quick
Lane jumped up two spots from last year,
going from No. 10 to No. 8.
Almost a third of the oil change-plus
facilities on the list saw growth over
the last year, with Commercial Tire
strumming up the largest gain. This chain
saw a 41 percent growth during the last
year, adding 11 stores. Jacksons (formerly
TRUCK LUBE CHAINS RANKED BY NUMBER OF
FACILITIES
2015
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Facility Signage
TA Maintenance Shops
Petro:Lube*
Wingfoot Truck Care Center
Speedco
Bosselman dba Boss Truck Shops
CITGO Truck Lubes
Sullivan Truck Center
Mystik Truck Lubes
Zippy Lube-A-Truck
Truck PM Plus
TOTAL
Total
Operating
2/28/15
175
77
53
51
44
40
15
9
8
7
479
*Owned by TA
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Danny’s Family Car Wash) dusted off its
boots and saw an impressive 30 percent
growth, partly due to Jacksons acquisition
of Danny’s. Other chains playin’ the fiddle
to double-digit growth include: Honest-1
Auto Care (20 percent), Brake Masters
(19 percent), CarMax (10 percent) and All
Tune & Lube (10 percent).
When it comes to singing the country
blues, these oil change-plus facilities are
playing a melancholy tune. Lentz USA
Automotive Service Centers saw the
sharpest decrease from 2014, declining
65 percent and taking them from No. 39
to No. 58. As mentioned earlier, Sears
Auto Centers declined 18 percent. The
only other oil change-plus chain to take
a double-digit hit was Mister Car Wash &
Lube Center (13 percent).
One thing to whoop and holler about
is the four new chains added to the list:
Jensen Tire & Auto, Theisen’s Tire &
Service Center, Northwest Tire and Don
Foshay’s Discount Tire.
Overall, 45 out of the 57 chains saw
store populations increase or stay the
same since 2014. This means 79 percent of
oil change-plus chains are whistlin’ Dixie
and want to keep that feel-good country
vibe alive.
Estimating the Industry’s Size
Every year as part of our Tops in the Industry study, we estimate the fast lube
industry’s overall facility population and
sales. We calculate facility population using a carefully honed formula that takes
into account the increasingly gray area
that exists between a “true” fast lube
(i.e. those companies with facilities represented on our fast lube chains list) and
oil change-plus facilities. In other words,
the formula attempts to take into account
the fact that many more shops are blurring the line between oil change and oil
change-plus category, simply because they
are deriving more and more income from
automotive maintenance. We recognize
INTERNATIONAL FAST LUBE CHAINS RANKED
BY NUMBER OF FACILITIES
2015
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Facility Signage/Company Headquarters
Kwik-Fit, U.K./Netherlands
Speedy*, France/Hungary/Turkey/Algeria
Auto-Teile-Unger (A.T.U.), Germany
Norauto, France/Europe/Latin America
Feu Vert, France
Petromin Express, Saudi Arabia
Ultra Tune, Australia/Indonesia/Saudi Arabia/Bahrain
Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, Australia
National Tyres & Autocare, U.K.
Mr. Lube, Canada
Goodyear Autocare, Australia
Speedy Auto Service, Canada
Great Canadian Oil Change, Canada
Pit Stop, New Zealand
Oil Changers, Canada
Lube City Express Oil Change, Canada
Future Auto Service, Australia
Minit Lube, Canada
Economy Lube, Canada
TOTAL
Total
Operating
2/28/15
600
579
578
384
338
313
270
244
228
165
125
66
50
48
28
25
11
8
7
4,067
while companies may be included in the
oil change-plus category, many of their individual stores will, in fact, be counted as
fast lubes on their share of the auto maintenance work.
We estimate as of March 1, 2015,
there are approximately 16,907 fast lube
facilities in operation, essentially a 0
percent change in store population. We
have heard anecdotes to support this
statistic. Many facilities have been going
through acquisitions — either buying
stores or being bought themselves — and
while some shops currently sit vacant,
there are a few new builds popping up here
and there. This shows that while some
operators in the industry may occasionally
lose that rock ’n roll edge, most are still
putting out consistent hits that are tearing
up the charts.
Using the average car count, ticket
average and days open per year figures
from our 2014 Fast Lube Operators
Survey, we estimate industry sales will be
approximately $13.7 billion this year.
Other pertinent figures that help define
the fast lube industry include:
• The average fast lube customer changes
his or her motor oil every 4,597 miles —
down four miles from last year. (Source:
NOLN Fast Lube Operators Survey)
• The average age of the U.S. passenger
vehicle population stays steady at 11.4
years. (Source: IHS Automotive)
• The total vehicles in operation in 2014
was about 253 million, mainly due to
an increase in new vehicle sales and
low scrappage rates. (Source: Experian
Automotive)
The fast lube industry has continued to
play those power chords and rock out in
recent years, producing moderately stable
population numbers. With a stream of
aging vehicles requiring maintenance and
an increased number of vehicles on road,
the industry is poised to bring out its inner
rock star and play to sellout crowds. S
* Owned by Kwik-Fit
March 2015 | NOLN 25
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