Consistency

&

2013 Tops in the Industry Rankings

by Tammy Neal S NOLN Staff Writer S tammy.neal@noln.net

Chemistry

In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.

Roger Staubach, former NFL quarterback and current businessman

taubach is an icon, and he has the resume to back it up. He that merely offer oil changes as an additional service (i.e. a tunequarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys to five Super Bowls, up shop, mass merchant retailer, tire store, etc.) fall into another winning two of them. He was named Most Valuable Player category. of Super Bowl VI, becoming the first player to ever win the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP, as well as named to the Pro Bowl six times. So, if theres a man out there who can contribute his success to consistency and chemistry, its Staubach. If youve ever been to an industry trade show, you can tell that the entire industry acts as a team and has those two key attributes consistency and chemistry. Its what the fast lube concept was built on: give customers fast service and great service, every time, using an exceptional team of employees. Another item in the industry that has been relatively consistent over the years is the National Oil & Lube News Tops in the Industry Rankings. Every year, we undertake an extensive research program to identify and rank the top auto service chains in the nation and Jiffy Lube is in the top spot of the fast lube list again this year, had a 1 percent increase during around the world. 2012 and is expected to open an additional 50 stores in 2013. The industry abounds with chemistry and consistency. How consistent? Well, the top three chains in the rankings (Jiffy Lube, Valvoline Instant Oil We do not require a fast lube to meet the traditional architectural Change and Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change) have remained undefinition of a quick lube, however. That is, it doesnt necessarily changed in the rankings for the last 10 years. have to be a roll-in, roll-out multi-bay shop with a pit/basement Before we examine the rankings, however, we first have to define system. A converted muffler shop with 10 bays and nothing but the terms we use in this study. For starters, what exactly is a fast lifts would qualify as long as the primary focus of the business is lube facility? Well, we classify a fast lube as any business that deproviding customers with quick oil changes and other maintenance rives the majority of its sales from quick, convenient oil changes services. By our way of thinking, its still a fast lube. and other automotive preventive maintenance services. Businesses While this definition is broader than that used by some entities,

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TOP 54 FAST LUBE CHAINS OPERATING IN 2013

(LIST INCLUDES ONLY THOSE OPERATIONS REPORTING SIX OR MORE FACILITIES)

Jiffy Lube saw its domestic store population increase by 27 stores or 1 percent.

The largest percentage growth was New Yorkbased Grease Lightning, increasing 161 percent! They now have 47 stores and plans to open 23 more by the end of the year.

The chains on this years list operate a total of 6,799 facilities, which is up 8 stores from last years total.

Valvoline Instant Oil Change saw a 9 percent growth over the last year, firmly seating it in the No. 2 position.

2013 2012 Rank Rank 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 7 5 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 13 13 12 14 14 15 17 16 16 17 18 18 19 19 20 19 21 23 22 22 23 24 24 24 25 21 26 26 27 27 28 33 29 27 30 27 31 30 32 31 33 32 34 33 35 33 36 37 37 33 38 37 39 40 40 37 41 42 42 41 43 42 44 42 45 45 46 45 47 49 48 47 49 51 50 51 51 51 52 50 53 51

Facility Signage/ Company Headquarters Jiy Lube, TX Valvoline Instant Oil Change, KY Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX Kwik Kar, TX Valvoline Express Care, KY Mobil 1 Lube Express, VA Havoline xpress lube, CA Express Oil Change & Service Center, AL Phillips 66 (formely ConocoPhillips Lube Shop), TX Grease Monkey, CO Shell Rapid Lube, TX Castrol Premium Lube Express, NJ CITGO Fast Lube, TX Oil Can Henry's, OR Super-Lube, FL American LubeFast, GA Grease Lightning, NY2 Lube Stop, OH Oil Changers, CA LubePro's, IL Speed Lube, IL Snappy Lube, NC Performance Plus Quick Lube, MI Uncle Ed's Oil Shoppe, MI Victory Lane Quick Oil Change, MI Take 5 Oil Change, LA Express Lube, TX Time-It Lube, LA Prompto 10-Minute Oil Change, ME Oilstop Drive-Thru Oil Center, CA Terrible Herbst, NV FASLube Oil Change Center, OH Fast Eddie's Oil Change, MI Lube 'n Go, TX Oil Express, IL Duke of Oil, IN Mystik Service Center, TX QuickChange, OH Sinclair Dino Lube, OK The Grease Spot, IL Avis Lube Fast Oil Change Center, TX Fast Track Oil Change Center, WI Grease Pro Express Lube, FL The Lube Center "10 Minute Oil Change," MD National Lube Express, TX QuikStop Oilube, KY Mr. Good Lube 10 Minute Oil Change, NJ UMC dba Speedy Lube/Zap Lube, NY Bolton Oil Change, TX Bradzoil 10 Minute Oil Change, TX Mr. Fast Lube, AR Prontolube, TX Sonic Lube, FL Toot n Totum, TX

Add't. Independent/ Total Stores Growth Company Operating Projected By Since Owned Franchised 2/28/13 12/31/13 2/29/12 0 1,962 1,962 50 1% 260 636 896 5 9% 750 0 750 * 0% 393 0 393 5 0% 336 0 336 30 -1% 327 0 327 * 2% 300 0 300 * -14% 85 110 195 13 4% 186 0 186 * 0% 8 172 180 15 -1% 175 0 175 * 0% 120 0 120 * 9% 102 0 102 15 -11% 33 55 88 0 -1% 2%1 39 14 53 5 53 0 53 0 -25% 47 0 47 23 161% 37 0 37 * 0% 15 19 34 0 0% 15 16 31 * -9% 31 0 31 0 0% 30 0 30 * 0% 29 0 29 4 0% 29 0 29 0 0% 5 23 28 3 -13% 27 0 27 5 4% 25 0 25 2 14% 25 0 25 1 67% 22 0 22 0 0% 11 10 21 6 -5% 21 0 21 0 0% 18 0 18 0 6% 16 0 16 0 0% 15 0 15 0 0% 8 7 15 0 0% 13 0 13 0 0% 13 0 13 2 -13% 11 2 13 0 0% 0 13 13 2 0% 13 0 13 0 0% 12 0 12 1 9% 12 0 12 0 0% 11 0 11 1 0% 11 0 11 0 0% 10 0 10 1 0% 10 0 10 0 0% 8 0 8 0 0% 7 0 7 0 -22% 6 0 6 0 0% 6 0 6 0 0% 6 0 6 0 0% 6 0 6 0 -14% 6 0 6 0 NEW 6 0 6 0 0%

TOTAL
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*projection unavailable
1

3,760

3,039
2

6,799

189

rst time to include Auto Super Service Center (5)

moved from associated list

we maintain that if a majority of a facilitys 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, co-branded facilities like a Midas/SpeeDee or tire stores that also have a 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 its 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. Thats why a brand like Valvoline Express Care, which is actually comprised of individual owner/operators who have entered into an agreement with Valvoline to use Express Care signage, is grouped together as a chain. Further, we frequently run across independent lube operations that might 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. We would be remiss not to mention the sponsorship of this years Tops in the Industry study. Ordinarily, we publish only select data in the magazine, reserving information about oil change-plus companies, industry sales, overall store population, etc. for a report available for sale or free to paid subscribers. Thanks to Amsoils sponsorship of this years survey, however, 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 Feb. 28, 2013. Consistency: Fast Lubes 2013 As we mentioned above, the top three chains on our list have not varied much in recent years, and it remains consistent once again this year. The 54 operating fast lube chains on this years list operate a total of 6,799 facilities, which is up eight facilities from last years total. Its great to see some growth in the industry, but overall, everything remains relatively constant. The top spot, once again, is Jiffy Lube, which had a 1 percent increase over the year and is expected to open an additional 50 stores in 2013. Valvoline Instant Oil Change claimed its spot at number two and saw a 9 percent growth in the process which means their chemistry must be right. There was a flip-flop in the top 10 chains, among No.s 5, 6 and 7. Valvoline Express Care ranks No. 5, up from No. 6 last year; Mobil 1 Lube Express claimed the No. 6 position, up from No. 7 last year; and Havoline xpress lube fell slightly to No. 7, from No. 5 last year. Businesses remaining consistent in the top 10 were Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change (No. 3), Kwik Kar (No. 4),

Express Oil Change & Service Center (No. 8), Phillips 66 (No. 9) and Grease Monkey (No. 10). We saw some notable gainers in the industry this year. Leading the pack was Grease Lightning, with a whopping 161 percent increase. The New York-based chain currently has 47 stores and is expected to open an additional 23 in 2013. Time-It Lube had the second biggest growth for the year at 67 percent. The chain is currently at 25 stores, up from 15 last year. Texas-based Express Lube also saw double-digit growth 14 percent which puts them at a current total of 25 stores. Several fast lube companies had single-digit growth during the last year, including Avis Lube Fast Oil Change Center (9 percent), Castrol Premium Lube Express (9 percent), FASLube Oil Change Center (6 percent), Express Oil Change & Service Center (4 percent), Take 5 Oil Change (4 percent), Mobil 1 Lube Express (2 percent) and Super Lube (2 percent).

Louisiana-based Take 5 Oil Change has 27 stores and expects to open five additional stores during 2013.

One new fast lube chain made the list this year; Florida-based Sonic Lube currently operates six stores. There were a few companies that saw a moderate decline in store count, such as American Lube Fast, which saw a decrease of 25 percent. UMC dba Speedy Lube/Zap Lube was close behind with a 22 percent decrease in store count. Prontolube and Havoline xpress lube both saw a decrease of 14 percent in population although in the first case it was only a decrease of one facility. Mystik Service Center and Victory Lane Quick Oil Change both decreased store count by 13 percent, and CITGO Fast Lubes store population decreased by 11 percent. Theres nothing better than cold, hard facts to show the consistency in the lube industry. Of the 54 chains comprising the list, 12 of them showed growth over the past year, while 12 of them showed a decrease in population. There was one new chain added, and 29 of the chains populations remained consistent. That means about 76 percent of the fast lube chains in the industry used their chemistry to keep on rolling, either resulting in growth or no change.
March 2013 23

It looks like the industrys associated chains have great chemistry going, as well, because all of the chains store counts either remained consistent or grew during the last year. The most growth on the associated chains list belongs to Speed Lube 10-Minute Oil Change which operates Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change stores. It grew by 78 percent last year, bringing the total number of stores operated to 16. Another notable gain of 33 percent was notched by Express Automotive Group, which operates 11 Havoline xpress lubes, four Texas Oil Express shops and one Kwik Kar facility. When it comes to U.S.-based lube chains operating in foreign countries, Mobil 1 Centers and Texaco Havoline xpress lube dominate the category. Currently, there are nearly 2,200 Mobil 1 Centers and more than 1,400 Texaco Havoline xpress lubes operating abroad. Chemistry: Oil Change-Plus 2013 While it looks like the fast lube side is heavy with consistency, the oil change-plus side of our rankings is overflowing with chemistry although not all of it positive. The top 10 oil change-plus rankings are not consistent, but thoroughly shuffled. Goodyear Tire & Service Network Outlets knocked Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express from its multi-year throne. Goodyear Tire & Service Network Outlets currently operate 2,423 facilities and saw a growth of 8 percent over the last year. The lists largest growth launched TBC Retail Group from its No. 5 ranking last year to a No. 2-tie with Wal-Mart TLE. TBC Retail Group saw a growth of 90 percent and currently operates 2,400 shops.
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TOP 57 OIL CHANGE-PLUS CHAINS OPERATING

2013 2012 Rank Rank 1 2 2 5 3 1 4 3 5 7 6 9 7 6 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 14 13 13 14 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 15 20 20 21 21 22 23 23 22 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 31 29 32 30 29 31 36 32 33 33 34 34 35 35 30 36 37 37 38 38 40 39 41 40 42 41 46 42 39 43 45 44 43 46 50 47 47 45 48 48 50 53 51 54 52 44 53 54 51 49 52 55 55 56 56
1

Facility Signage/ Company Headquarters Goodyear Tire & Service Network Outlets, OH TBC Retail Group, FL1 Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express, AR2 Bridgestone Retail Operations, IL3 Aamco Transmissions & Total Car Care, PA Monro Muer Brake & Service, NY4 Meineke Car Care Center, NC Sears Auto Centers, IL Pep Boys, PA Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center (Ford), MI Tuy/Car X Auto Service Center, OH AutoNation, FL Precision Tune Auto Care, VA STS Tire & Auto Centers, NJ CarMax, VA Christian Brothers Automotive, TX Brake Masters, AZ6 Lithia Motors, Inc., OR All Tune & Lube, MD Purrfect Auto Service, CA Brakes Plus Complete Auto Service, CO Merlin 200,000 Mile Shops, IL VIP Parts, Tires & Service, ME Lee Myles Transmissions & AutoCare, NJ Tire-Rama, MT Quality Tune-Up Shops, CA Tilden Your Total Car Care Center, NY Conrad's Tire Express & Total Car Care, OH Milex Complete Auto Care, IL Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Center, MI Honest-1 Auto Care, AZ Mister Hotshine Car Wash & Lube Center, AZ Sun Devil Auto, AZ Tunex Complete Car Care, UT Commercial Tire, ID Wash Depot/Simoniz Car Wash, MA Lentz USA Automotive Service Centers, MI City Garage, TX Car Care Clinic, MS BRAKEmax, AZ Delta Sonic Car Wash/Sonic Lube, NY Auto Check Complete Car Care, TX Car Spa, TX Danny's Family Car Wash, AZ Curry's Auto Service, VA LMC Carwash & Lube, NY Mr. Clean Car Wash, GA Cobblestone Auto Spa & Quick Lube, AZ Savannah Tire Brake & Alignment, GA Woodie's Auto Service, NC Autotech (Master Mechanics), NV Discount Inspection and Brakes, TX King Bear Auto Service Centers, NY Raeld Tire-Master, GA Sawyer Tire Auto Care, MO Fuller's Carwash & Lube, IL Super Lube Complete Car Care Center, OH

Independent/ Company Owned Franchised 2,423 0 1,000 1,400 2,400 0 2,220 0 35 865 864 0 8 850 778 0 757 0 0 641 29 322 0 303 34 225 138 0 132 0 6 105 57 36 0 87 0 80 0 70 64 0 10 48 56 0 0 45 0 45 8 31 0 39 33 0 0 32 0 31 0 30 30 0 28 0 0 27 26 0 21 0 10 7 16 0 14 0 12 0 12 0 11 0 2 8 10 0 9 0 9 0 2 7 8 0 8 0 8 0 7 0 7 0 0 7 7 0 7 0 6 0 6 0

Total Oil Change Facilities 2/28/13 2,423 2,400 2,400 2,220 900 864 858 778 757 641 351 303 259 138 132 111 93 87 80 70 64 58 56 45 45 39 39 33 32 31 30 30 28 27 26 21 17 16 14 12 12 11 10 10 9 9 9 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 6

Growth Since 2/29/12 8% 90% -4% 2% 5% 14% -1% -4% 3% 6% -8% 17% -5% NEW 22% 16% 4% 1% -60% -1% 7% 7% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 0% -18% 20% 0% 0% -4% -24% 0% -11% 0% 8% 0% 20% -35% 0% 0%7 0% -10% -10% NEW 0% 0% -30% NEW -22% -13% 0% NEW 0%

TOTAL
dba Tire Kingdom, NTB - National Tire and Battery, Merchants Tire and Auto Centers, Big O Tires, and Midas Auto Service Experts. 2 Figures obtained from third-party source. 3 dba Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Expert Tire
4

11,328

5,341

16,669

and Wheel Works. Also dba Mr. Tire, TreadQuarters Discount Tire and Autotire Car Care Center. 5 Estimate 6 Included carwashes in 2012

The shakeup spreads further throughout the oil change-plus ranking. Last years No. 3, Bridgestone Retail Operations, is in this years No. 4 position. Aamco Transmissions & Total Car Care moved up from No. 7 last year to No. 5 this year, and Monro Muffler Brake & Service moved up from No. 9 in 2012 to No. 6 in 2013. Meineke Car Care dropped from the No. 6 position in 2012s ranking to No. 7 this year. Pep Boys and Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center both moved up one spot from last year, placing them at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. The majority of oil change-plus facilities on the list saw growth over the last year, with previously mentioned TBC Retail Group leading the way. CarMax notched a 22 percent growth,

TOP ASSOCIATED CHAINS OPERATING

2013 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Growth Operating Since Facility Signage/Associated Chain/ 2/28/13 2/29/12 Company Headquarters North Florida Lubes (66 Havoline xpress lube), FL 66 3% Pioneer Quick Lube (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change), MI 26 0% Fast Change Lube & Oil (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change), KY 23 10% Automasters of Asheboro (Valvoline Express Care), NC 16 0% Express Automotive Group (11 Havoline xpress lube, 4 Texas Oil Express, 1 Kwik Kar), TX 16 33% Speed Lube 10-Minute Oil Change (Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change), IL 16 78% Lighthouse Lube (Mobil 1 Lube Express), WI 13 0% Sayle Oil Co. (2 Dipstix, 8 Shell Rapid Lube), MS 10 0%

U.S.-BASED LUBE CHAINS RANKED BY NUMBER OF FOREIGN FACILITIES

2013 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Facility Signage/Company Headquarters Mobil 1 Centers, VA Texaco Havoline xpress lube, CA Walmart Tire & Lube Express, AR Midas Auto Service Experts, IL Jiy Lube, TX Precision Tune Auto Care, VA Meineke Car Care Centers, NC Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change, TX Grease Monkey, CO Aamco Transmissions, PA CITGO Fast Lube, TX TOTAL Total Operating 2/28/13 2,188 1,432 266 160 150 82 78 75 65 11 1 4,508

Goodyear Tire & Service Network outlets knocked Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express from its multi-year throne. Goodyear currently operates 2,423 facilities.

bringing its total to 132 facilities, while Honest-1 Auto Care and Delta Sonic Car Wash/Sonic Lube both grew 20 percent, clocking in at 30 and 12 facilities, respectively. Other companies saw minor to moderate growth, including AutoNation, Christian Brothers Automotive, Brakes Plus Complete Auto Service, Merlin 200,000 Mile Shops and Car Care Clinic. When it comes to declines on the oil change-plus list, All Tune & Lube decreased the most 60 percent which dropped them four spots to No. 19 in this years rankings. Other notable declines belonged to Auto Check Complete Car Care (35 percent), Com26 www.noln.net

TRUCK LUBE CHAINS RANKED BY NUMBER OF FACILITIES

2013 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Facility Signage TA Maintenance Shops Petro:Lube* Speedco Wingfoot Truck Care Center Bosselman dba Boss Truck Shops CITGO Truck Lubes Sullivan Truck Center Mystik Truck Lubes Zippy Lube-A-Truck Truck PM Plus TOTAL
*Owned by TA

Total Operating 2/28/13 237 74 51 50 45 39 14 13 10 9 542

mercial Tire (24 percent), King Bear Auto Service Centers (22 percent) and Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Center (18 percent). Also, we added four new chains to the list: STS Tire & Auto Centers, Cobblestone Auto Spa & Quick Lube, Discount Inspection and Brakes, and Fullers Carwash & Lube. In all, 37 out of 57 chains saw store populations increase or stay the same over the past year. That means that 65 percent of the oil change-plus chains have the chemistry to remain consistent or become even better. Estimating the Industrys Size Every year as part of our Tops in the Industry study, we estimate the fast lube industrys 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 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, 2013, there are approximately 17,063 fast lube facilities in operation, a decrease of about 0.6 percent in store population. This shows that operators throughout the industry have found the chemistry to remain consistent and continue forward. Using the average car count, ticket average and days open per year figures from our 2012 Fast Lube Operators Survey, we estimate industry sales will be approximately $9.8 billion this year. Other pertinent figures that help define the fast lube industry: The average fast lube customer changes
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his or her motor oil every 4,777 miles. TheaverageageofU.S.passengercarsand light trucks recently increased to 11.0 years. (Source: Experian Automotive) The total vehicles in operation in 2012 was about 245 million vehicles. (Source: Experian Automotive)

In all, the fast lube industry has been relatively stable the last few years, and the trend continues today. A minimal decrease in facility population points to an industry full of consistency and chemistry. S

The oil change-plus lists largest growth launched TBC Retail Group from its No. 5 ranking last year to a No. 2-tie with Wal-Mart TLE. TBC Retail Group saw a growth of 90 percent and currently operates 2,400 shops. TBC operates as Tire Kingdom, NTB - National Tire and Battery, Merchants Tire and Auto Centers, Big O Tires and Midas Auto Service Experts.

INTERNATIONAL FAST LUBE CHAINS RANKED BY NUMBER OF FACILITIES

2013 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 Auto-Teile-Unger (A.T.U.), Germany Speedy*, France/Hungary/Turkey Norauto, France/Europe Feu Vert, France Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, Australia Ultra Tune, Australia National Tyres & Autocare, U.K. Petromin Express, Saudi Arabia Goodyear Autocare, Australia Mr. Lube, Canada Speedy Auto Service, Canada Great Canadian Oil Change, Canada Pit Stop, New Zealand Oil Changers, Canada Lube City Express Oil Change, Canada Economy Lube, Canada Future Auto Service, Australia Minit Lube, Canada TOTAL * Owned by Kwik-Fit Total Operating 2/28/13 750 600 579 383 330 263 260 226 188 125 120 64 51 50 26 20 12 12 8 4,067