One of the many ways the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance is different from other aftermarket program groups is in its progressive use of category management and branding capabilities. Nowhere is that more evident than with the Alliance’s Perfect Stop exclusive national brand of brake components.
An “exclusive national brand” is profoundly different than the-run-of-the-mill private label products offered up by other groups. Many private label brands are viewed by technicians as being of lower quality and coming from plants in low-cost countries that have little design innovation behind them. While they are viewed as “appropriate” for many lower value and older applications, they are not viewed by technicians as suitable for the majority of the jobs they perform.
Exclusive national brands like Perfect Stop are equivalent to national brands in every way, but also offer differentiated performance features. The Alliance collaborates with suppliers that have R&D capabilities, design engineers and testing facilities that are capable of creating meaningful product innovations, not just the resources to copy another product.
Those differentiated performance features include:
- OE like heat scorching – no bed-in required
- OE styled multi-layer shims for quieter braking
- Improved metallurgy for longer life
- Armor Plate coating to resist rust and corrosion
- Mounting brackets, banjo bolts and abutment clips installed
And since Perfect Stop is available exclusively from the Alliance, its affiliated outlets are the only place the brand is available. When a reseller has an exclusive brand they can be confident that their customers are not returning a product to them that was purchased from another source. Likewise, the ability to better control “distressed stock” is enhanced under this brand strategy. And, perhaps most significantly, brand exclusivity makes for price stability in the marketplace.
Only Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper affiliated resellers have access to the Exclusive National Brands offered by the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance.
To find out more about Perfect Stop and the growing portfolio of Alliance Exclusive National Brands, contact your local distributor or contact the Alliance in accordance with the information at left.
