Pep Boys Improves its SoCal Position

Pep Boys has acquired 17 Southern California tires stores from AKH Co. Inc.

AKH owns and operates Discount Tire Centers in California, and prior to the sale held 55 retail locations. It is not to be confused with Discount Tire Co., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., which owns and operates more than 800 retail stores across the U.S., but operates under the America’s Best banner in California.

The 17 stores Pep Boys took are located throughout the greater Los Angeles market, from Bakersfield to Orange County. They will re-open on Sept. 12, as Pep Boys service and tire stores.

“We aim to grow in the neighborhoods where our customers live and work through the acquisition and development of service and tire centers," said Pep Boys CEO and president Mike Odell.

"With this acquisition, 75% of Los Angeles-area residents live within three miles of a Pep Boys location,” says Joe Cirelli, senior vice president for business development. “Now we have nearly 150 locations in California, where we have served customers since 1933.”

Ascot Supply Corporation, based in Newnan, Georgia, has selected Mark Paquette for the newly created position of vice president. In this position, Ascot Supply said Paquette will oversee the growth of the company's products, corporate profitability, manage marketing and advertising and assume many other responsibilities.

He will work under the direction of current President David Kessler and officially begin his new role on June 3. Paquette joined the tire and automotive industry in the early 1980s at his father's tire shop, and his contributions to Mohawk Rubber Sales were instrumental in the company's growth and eventual sale to Myers Tire Supply in 2021, according to Ascot Supply. Paquette eventually was given a promotion to the role of director of operations at Myers Tire Supply.