Tag Archives: strategic partnership

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Advance Auto Parts and Interstate Batteries announce strategic partnership

New battery program offers unrivaled automotive aftermarket product assortment and availability at Advance Auto Parts and Carquest locations

ROANOKE, Va. and DALLAS, Tex., 2017-Dec-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP) and Interstate Batteries® announce a strategic partnership to better serve the changing needs of the automotive aftermarket with premium quality products, expanded availability and enhanced customer service. Interstate Batteries, the leading replacement battery brand with the largest independent battery distribution system in North America, will become the exclusive automotive and specialty battery brand to Advance Auto Parts® stores and customers in the spring of 2018.

Advance Auto Parts, a leading parts provider serving both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers, will debut a comprehensive battery program featuring Interstate products at its more than 4,900 U.S. and international locations, and will offer free battery testing and installation in stores. Interstate products will be available initially at Advance’s company-owned stores and at independently owned Carquest stores. In the future, wholly owned Advance Auto Parts subsidiaries Worldpac, Autopart International and Carquest Canada will also offer Interstate products.

“We are thrilled that Advance Auto Parts will be the only national auto parts retailer offering our customers the market leading battery brand,” said Tom Greco, president and CEO of Advance Auto Parts. “The trusted Interstate brand, coupled with Advance’s best-in-class customer service, is a winning combination. Offering Interstate products in store, online, and through delivery within our network demonstrates our commitment to serving our customers through differentiated, innovative solutions. Together with Interstate, we are positioned to increase market share in batteries and achieve growth. Long term strategic partnerships with our suppliers are important and this is a great example.”

Automotive technicians have named Interstate Batteries the overall Best Automotive Battery Brand every year since 2007, according to Frost & Sullivan. Through the partnership, professional installers and do-it yourself customers receive greater access and availability to premium automotive and specialty batteries as well as a broader warranty program.

“Interstate Batteries’ long-term vision is to be the first choice in sustainable battery solutions in every
community we serve,” said Scott Miller, president and CEO of Interstate Batteries. “This alliance places us where our professional and retail customers are making purchasing decisions, allowing Advance Auto Parts and independent Carquest stores to serve as convenient, one-stop shops to meet our customers’ needs.”

Retail customers and professional installers alike will benefit from the partnership in many ways:
 Best-In-Class Brands: For 85 years, customers have relied on Advance Auto Parts for high quality parts, service and solutions. Customers value quality and reliability in batteries. Now, customers can get the entire line of the market leading Interstate brand from Advance Auto Parts. Interstate’s products are qualified at Interstate’s state-of-the-art testing lab to verify their products meet or exceed original equipment fit and function.

 Unmatched Availability: Through the partnership, DIY consumers and professional installers will benefit from more than 99 percent coverage for cars, light trucks, and specialty battery needs. Combining Advance’s online platforms and extended retail hours with Interstate’s expansive distribution network and route service program means the two companies will be able to provide the right battery at the right time when and where consumers need them.

 Best-In-Class Service: Advance locations will benefit from Interstate’s vast battery distribution network – the largest in North America – with more frequent product rotation and efficiencies through direct delivery to stores, keeping shelves fully stocked. Professional installers will appreciate Advance’s timely delivery service, allowing them more time to focus on customers’ needs. Additionally, with its portfolio of more than 900,000 quality products, Advance is ready to meet the full automotive parts needs of Interstate’s extensive professional customer base. For consumers, Advance stores will continue to offer free battery testing and installation through the expertise of its knowledgeable team.

 Nationwide Warranty Coverage: Interstate warranties now will be honored at all Advance locations and independently-owned Carquest stores in addition to the 200,000-plus professional shops that install Interstate batteries. The Advance footprint and name recognition bring increased convenience to Interstate customers seeking warranty support.

 Environmental Sustainability: In addition to sharing similar values based on quality, service and integrity, both companies also focus on environmental sustainability. Together, the companies will recycle more than 30 million batteries per year. That’s 1.1 billion pounds of lead and equates to more batteries recycled than sold.

For more information, visit www.advanceautoparts.com or www.interstatebatteries.com.

About Advance Auto Parts
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers. As of October 7, 2017, Advance operated 5,074 stores and 129 Worldpac branches and employed approximately 73,000 Team Members in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Company also serves approximately 1,250 independently owned Carquest branded stores across these locations in addition to Mexico and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Pacific Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts, accessories and other offerings can be found at www.AdvanceAutoParts.com.

About Interstate Batteries
For more than 65 years, Interstate Batteries® has powered people down roads, trails and waterways and charged up businesses for success. Best known for its starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries, its products have been under car hoods since 1952, each one backed by the company’s service, quality and value. Interstate All Battery Center® provides portable power in both retail and commercial markets, and Interstate PowerCare® offers premier products and technical expertise for all critical and motive power needs. Headquartered in Dallas, Interstate Batteries is an industry leader in recycling efforts, as well as a global leader in safe lead handling practices. Guided by a set of core values, the company’s purpose is to glorify God and enrich lives while delivering the most trustworthy source of power to the world. For more information, visit www.interstatebatteries.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Greg Miller
On behalf of Advance Auto Parts
greg_miller@richards.com
214-891-7668

Sarah Marshall
Jackson Spalding for Interstate Batteries
smarshall@jacksonspalding.com
214-269-4007

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Prabhakar Vaidyanathan
Advance Auto Parts
prabhakar.vaidyanathan@advance-auto.com
919-227-5466

Source: Advance Auto Parts

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The Specialty Food Association and Food Marketing Institute launch strategic partnership

The Specialty Food Association and Food Marketing Institute launch strategic partnership

 

NEW YORK, NY, 2017-May-23 — /EPR Retail News/ — The Specialty Food Association (SFA) and Food Marketing Institute (FMI) have announced the launch of a strategic partnership focused on the $127 billion specialty food category.

This relationship will bring together SFA and FMI members to strengthen business development, engage in food safety training, and increase understanding of the growing specialty food industry. The segment offers high-quality, unique products that cater to an increasingly adventurous shopper.

“Specialty foods outpace their non-specialty counterparts in nearly every category, presenting a unique opportunity for a wide variety of retailers and foodservice operators to increase sales,” SFA President Phil Kafarakis said. “SFA looks forward to partnering with FMI in business-building programs with our respective members. We believe this strategic partnership will have a positive impact throughout the industry.”

FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin commented on the partnership saying, “Consumer trends point to continued specialty and organic growth, so it’s imperative that the food retail industry meet this consumer need, while making the necessary investment to secure the food supply by building trusting relationships with specialty product trading partners.”

The SFA’s Summer Fancy Food Show will serve as the stage for the launch of this SFA-FMI relationship. FMI members are invited to attend the new SFA LevelUP attraction at the Show and participate in a customized buyers program with SFA manufacturers – Biz Builders 1:1. The program brings pre-matched buyers and sellers together for one-on-one meetings just prior to the Fancy Food Show, creating sales opportunities that are tailored to each.

Another critical tier for this relationship is awareness building for FMI’s Safe Quality Foods (SQF) Institute Certification programs for manufacturers and the FMI SafeMark™ for retailers. Sarasin noted, “Food retailers are well positioned within their customers’ circle of trust when it comes to food safety and supporting shoppers’ health and wellness goals, so our partnership with SFA is supported by a responsible commitment to evolve and explore new territory that keeps the shopper’s confidence top of mind.”

Food safety experts from FMI will lead educational opportunities at the SFA’s Summer Fancy Food Show, sharing trends in food safety and outlining how new technology affects food safety, brand protection, and consumer confidence.

Kafarakis said, “Engaging FMI members directly in LevelUP and Biz Builders 1:1, and SFA members with core food safety principles will immediately elevate the level of authority at the Summer Show and be a great kick off for the partnership.”

More information on the SFA Fancy Food Show, including details on the LevelUP attraction, are at fancyfoodshows.com. The show is a trade-only event. Journalists who cover the specialty food industry may apply for press credentials. Click here to apply.

The Specialty Food Association is a thriving community of food artisans, purveyors, importers and entrepreneurs who bring craft, care and joy to the distinctive foods they sell. Established in 1952 in New York, the not-for-profit trade association provides its 3,600+ members in the U.S. and abroad the tools, knowledge and connections to champion and nurture their companies in an always-evolving marketplace. The Association (formerly the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc.) owns and produces the Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows, and presents the sofi™ Awards honoring excellence in specialty food. www.specialtyfood.com

Food Marketing Institute proudly advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. FMI’s U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides valuable benefits to more than 1,225 food retail and wholesale member companies in the United States and around the world. FMI membership covers the spectrum of diverse venues where food is sold, including single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains and mixed retail stores. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org.

Contact:

Tel: 202-452-8444
fax: 202-429-4519

Source: Food Marketing Institute

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Walgreens announces new strategic partnership with health care incubator and innovation community, MATTER

DEERFIELD & CHICAGO, Ill., 2016-Dec-22 — /EPR Retail News/ — As Walgreens focuses on new ways to help support the development of next-generation health care technology, products and services, today (Dec. 20, 2016) the company joins Chicago-based health care incubator and innovation community, MATTER, in announcing a new strategic relationship.

Walgreens will collaborate with health care innovators across MATTER’s network of early-stage industry entrepreneurs and partners, who are focused on accelerating the development and growth of solutions that address industry challenges and improve care.

“We’re looking forward to working with MATTER and uncovering new innovation that can help shape the future of health care, technology and pharmacy,” said Brad Fluegel, senior vice president and chief healthcare commercial market development officer at Walgreens.

As part of the collaboration, Walgreens will actively contribute to MATTER’s knowledge network, providing expertise to MATTER’s curriculum, participating in mentorship, and supporting other initiatives designed to provide the incubator’s 150+ startups with the resources they need to further their businesses and connect to the broader health care ecosystem in the region.

Walgreens is also working closely with MATTER as a founding member of the recently launched Healthcare Council of Chicago (HC3) – an organization co-created by MATTER and Leavitt Partners. HC3’s charter is to convene Chicagoland health care companies to expand the intellectual, technical, human and financial capital required to succeed in a value-based health care economy while concurrently raising Chicago’s profile as an American health care epicenter.

“Walgreens has been a retail pharmacy pioneer for more than a century,” said Steven Collens, MATTER CEO. “The opportunities, insights, and perspectives that Walgreens provides will prove invaluable to the innovators at MATTER and to the Healthcare Council of Chicago.”

“We look forward to supporting MATTER’s community efforts to help push the status quo of health care forward through innovation and technology,” said Nimesh Jhaveri, Walgreens divisional vice president, health services development. “Collectively, with MATTER and its members and partners, we will focus on helping to address some of the pressing health care challenges the industry is facing today, to better serve patients and our communities.”

MATTER acts as a community hub for stakeholders across the health care industry, from executives of established companies, to entrepreneurs building their own innovative solutions to real health care problems. By convening these various players together, MATTER believes the future of health care innovation can and will be reached more quickly and efficiently.

About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com), one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, is included in the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. More than 10 million customers interact with Walgreens each day in communities across America, using the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice. Walgreens operates 8,175 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens omnichannel business includes Walgreens.com and VisionDirect.com. Approximately 400 Walgreens stores offer Healthcare Clinic or other provider retail clinic services.

About MATTER
MATTER is a community of entrepreneurs, innovators and industry leaders working together to harness technology to improve health and healthcare. More than 150 healthcare technology startups operate at MATTER, and the company partners with 11 hospitals and health systems, five universities and more than 40 industry-leading companies. By equipping, empowering and emboldening healthcare innovators, MATTER accelerates the development of technologies that solve the right healthcare problems in the right ways. For more information, visit www.matterchicago.com and follow @matterchicago.

Contacts:
Walgreens
Scott Goldberg
847-315-7649
scott.goldberg@walgreens.com
http://news.walgreens.com
@WalgreensNews
facebook.com/Walgreens

MATTER
Melissa Lederer
312-543-9537
melissa@matterchicago.com

Source: Walgreens

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Staples, Inc. announces strategic partnership with Managed by Q

Partnership Gives Staples’ Customers Access to Expanded Services Offering through Managed by Q’s Platform

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. & NEW YORK, 2016-Nov-18 — /EPR Retail News/ — Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), the world’s largest office solutions provider and one of the biggest internet retailers, today (Nov. 17, 2016) announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Managed by Q, a web-based technology platform that connects business with the services they need to run a workspace and consolidate vendor management, to offer Staples’ business customers a one-stop shop for everything an office manager needs, including new services to Staples.

Staples will now provide customers in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco access to Managed by Q’s suite of office services. The platform lets users hire, communicate with, pay and review providers of over 100 different services, from cleaners and handymen to IT support and even workplace yoga. In the coming months, Staplesand Managed by Q expect to expand the service and create more solutions that make it easy to run the office.

“Partnering with Managed by Q directly supports Staples’ previously announced strategy to focus on providing mid-market customers even more products and services beyond traditional office supplies,” said Neil Ringel, executive vice president, Staples Business Advantage. “Office managers at mid-market companies are constantly looking for ways to streamline their workday and save time, and we’ve now made it easy for them to keep their workplace running by giving them one place to interact with their office management vendors.”

“We’re very excited to accelerate our growth nationally through a relationship with Staples,” said Dan Teran, Co-Founder and CEO of Managed by Q. “Staples has built an amazing business around the needs of office managers, so connecting to our market leading services platform is a natural fit and a real win for office managers everywhere”

With this partnership, Managed by Q will get access to Staples growing customer base of small and medium sized businesses, while Staples customers can now access a significantly expanded suite of office services. Staples is again bringing an innovative offering to market to solve the pain points of the office manager, similar to the recent announcement of a digital “Easy Button“ for ordering and customer service.

“The strength of Managed by Q’s technology and customer service aligns with Staples’ brand promise to help businesses make more happen,” said Faisal Masud, executive vice president, global e-commerce, Staples. “Managed by Q is truly a digital platform for the office that gives Staples’ customers access to whatever help they need, whenever they need it.”

About Staples, Inc.
Staples helps small business customers make more happen by providing a broad assortment of products, expanded business services and easy ways to shop – in stores, online, via mobile or through social apps. Staples Business Advantage, the business-to-business division, caters to mid-market, commercial and enterprise-sized customers by offering a one-source solution for the products and services they need, combined with best-in-class customer service, competitive pricing and a state-of-the-art ecommerce site. Headquartered outside of Boston, Staples, Inc. operates throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. More information about Staples(NASDAQ: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com.

About Managed by Q
Managed by Q makes it easy to run an office. Founded in 2013, the company saves businesses and employees valuable time by providing a range of subscription and on-demand services, from cleaning and maintenance to supply replenishment and wellness. Today, the Managed by Q platform connects thousands of businesses to the services required to seamlessly run their workspaces. The company is committed to spreading a mission of economic empowerment, by creating good jobs for its operators and providing opportunities for small business to flourish. Managed by Q operates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. For more information visit Managed by Q.

Contact:
Mark Cautela
508-253-3832
mark.cautela@staples.com

Managed by Q
Tiffany Markofsky
305-710-2960
tmarkofsky@managedbyQ.com

Source: Staples, Inc.