SACRAMENTO, Calif. – At the CAWA leadership meetings held in Napa, Calif., earlier this month, industry leaders and experts made presentations to the CAWA leadership and membership during the meeting’s general session.

AAIA President Kathleen Schmatz started it off by re-introducing her organization as the Auto Care Association, the new name for the association unveiled at AAPEX 2013, which was changed to better reflect the role of the industry. Schmatz told attendees the re-branding of the association was critical to a better understanding of the industry by policy makers and consumers. She discussed the association’s various programs and how together with CAWA, the association can be an asset to businesses, particularly in partnership with its respective government affairs program out West.

Jim Grubbs of eBay Motors was the next speaker, who discussed how his organization was impacting the traditional automotive parts distribution channel. Although the company does not sell parts as an organization, eBay motors electronically puts sellers together with buyers of auto parts. He says the company’s growth has been significant and continues to be a factor in parts distribution. The final speaker for the meeting, Tom Marx of Marx Group Advisors, looked at trends in mergers and acquisitions in the past few years. He forecasted this to continue in the immediate future. His perspective on the health of the industry was noted by a 2 to 3 percent revenue growth in the next 10 years. He emphasized the need for succession planning for business owners and how it is a valuable process to conduct.

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