United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
–based auto parts store chain that had stores located in the states of
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
,
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
and
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Chief was founded in 1955 in
Norwalk, California
Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 102,773 at the 2020 census.
Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located southeast of downtown Los Angeles a ...
, by Vern Johnson and Lorin Tuthill. The company grew to 119 stores when it was sold to Southland in 1979. After passing through several different owners during the next two decades, the company grew to over 500 stores before it was sold to AutoZone in 1998.
History
Chief was founded in 1955 in
Norwalk, California
Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 102,773 at the 2020 census.
Founded in the late 19th century, Norwalk was incorporated as a city in 1957. It is located southeast of downtown Los Angeles a ...
, by Vern Johnson and Lorin Tuthill. The chain grew to 119 stores, mostly in California, by the time it was purchased by Southland in 1979. It was purchased by Southland Corporation in 1979, along with
Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation, or Citgo (stylized as CITGO), is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area ...
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, and operated as a division of Southland Corporation until 1990. The company expanded in 1985 by acquiring locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama by purchasing Honey's Auto Parts in Nashville. At the same time, Chief also acquired 77 Checker Auto Parts locations in Oklahoma and Texas from Lucky Stores when Lucky decided to withdraw Checker from those areas.
In 1988, Southland sold Chief Auto Parts to an investor group led by Chief management and
Shearson Lehman Brothers
Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward Shearson Six years later, Chief Auto Parts was acquired by Trust Company of the West, a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
–based investment group, and the management of Chief Auto Parts for an undisclosed amount to primarily pay off General Electric Capital which had acquired Shearson Lehman's share of the company. In 1995, Chief Auto Parts acquired
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
-based Hi-Lo Automotive, with its 191 stores in Texas, Louisiana and California, for $121 million. At the time of the acquisition, Chief had more than 500 stores in California, Texas, Nevada, Tennessee, Arkansas and Arizona.
In 1998, Trust Company of the West sold Chief to
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
–based AutoZone for $280 million in cash and debt assumption. At the time of the sale, Chief had 556 auto parts stores. From 1992 until its merger with AutoZone, the company's CEO was David H. Eisenberg.