Monro Muffler and Brake
Encyclopedia
Muffler
A muffler is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. A US Patent for an Exhaust muffler for engines was granted to Milton and Marshall Reeves in 1897....
and brake
Brake
A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
repair. Monro Muffler is named for Monroe County, New York
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
(County for the city of Rochester, NY), without the "e."
Early history
The company was founded by Chuck AugustCharles August
Charles "Chuck" J. August was an American businessman who founded Monro Muffler Brake.August's career in automotive maintenance and repair began as a Midas Muffler franchisee in 1957 in Rochester, New York. In 1966, he discontinued his affiliation with Midas...
in 1957, originally as a franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
of another company, Midas Muffler
Midas Muffler
Midas, Inc. is a chain of automotive service centers headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. In the main markets of the United States and Canada, Midas stores are company-owned or franchised...
.
In the mid-1960s, Chuck August decided that his muffler
Muffler
A muffler is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. A US Patent for an Exhaust muffler for engines was granted to Milton and Marshall Reeves in 1897....
shops should offer an expanded list of services. This was not in line with the other organization's wishes. In 1966, Chuck discontinued his affiliation with Midas Muffler. August launched a new muffler service company under the name Monro Muffler with his brother, Burton S. August, and Sheldon Lane. August named the new company after Monroe County, New York, but without the "e" at the end of the name. August added brake
Brake
A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
services several years later and renamed the company, Monro Muffler Brake Inc.
Monro began a deliberate course of prudent expansion, arriving at 20 stores by 1977.They had a warehouse on West Henrietta Road. By the end of 1979, they had about 43 stores in New York. From this warehouse, drivers would load the trucks and deliver to all the 43 stores throughout New York. Afterwards, a more aggressive expansion program was instituted when the company began to make a number of large acquisitions. By the mid-1980s, there were 59 stores which generated $21 million in sales annually. Most of those locations were located in upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
.
Expansion
In 1984, the company's founder, Charles August, sold his controlling interestControlling interest
Controlling interest in a corporation means to have control of a large enough block of voting stock shares in a company such that no one stock holder or coalition of stock holders can successfully oppose a motion...
in Monro Muffler and Brake to a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based investors group headed by Donald Glickman and Peter J. Solomon. August remained on the company's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
until 2002.
In 1991, Monro Muffler made its initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
. Monro's stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
began trading on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
under the symbol "MNRO". The company aggressively expanded throughout the 1990s outside of its traditional base in upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In September 1998, Monro successfully purchased all 205 Speedy Muffler King locations within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Speedy Muffler King, Inc. of Toronto, Canada.
In 2004, Monro purchased the 25 stores and 10 kiosks of Mr. Tire
Mr. Tire
Mr. Tire is the name of several tire dealers in the United States.The first Mr. Tire is a distributor of tires in the United States. It distributes CO-OP brand tires among others, and is controlled by Universal Cooperatives. It is retailers' cooperative, whose members owned the company. It was...
, a Baltimore, Maryland chain which trademarked “On the Rim and Out the Door” pricing. Later that year, Monro bought five Rice Tire locations and rebranded them as Mr. Tire Auto Service Centers. Monro now operates 132 Mr. Tire outlets.
In 2006, Monro obtained 75 ProCare shops from bankruptcy, converting 44 to Monro Muffler Brake & Service centers and 31 to Mr. Tire outlets. In fiscal 2010, the company purchased the 26 Autotire stores in Missouri and Illinois, its first venture into the mid-West, and the 41 Tire Warehouse Central stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire. Fiscal 2011 began with the acquisition of Import Export Tire Co., five retail tire and auto repair stores in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metro region, and Courthouse Tire, three tire and undercar care facilities in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area. Thirty-five of the Monro Muffler Brake & Service shops are located in BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. , commonly referred to simply as BJ's, is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating on the United States East Coast, as well as in the state of Ohio...
stores.
This strategy of new acquisitions and converting existing stores to carry the Monro name continues under the leadership of President and CEO, Rob Gross. Since his arrival in 1999, the company has steadily increased its sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
and profitability
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
. Monro is the largest, most profitable independently owned under-car repair specialist in the United States. In fiscal 2010, Monro serviced 3.9 million cars, trucks, and vans and posted record sales of $564.6 million, record net income of $33.2 million, and record earnings of $1.61 per share.