Grass Valley, Calif.—Situated in the northern most end of the California Gold Country, on historic Route 49, Grass Valley is a gold-mining town established in 1848 where $150 million in gold was extracted from two mines until they were closed by the war production board in 1940.
Today the city still proudly displays its early architecture and history as a living museum that has maintained its cultural identity and remained a strong family-oriented city that coexists with a thriving, modern business center.
In the middle of that business center is the heritage location of Riebes Auto Parts, a family-owned and -operated NAPA auto parts business that started in 1957, said Owner Bart Riebe, who added that he’s been involved with the business since he was 9.
“It was originally B&H Auto Parts, a little NAPA store owned by Bill Bratt and Pam Haskell in the back of the Jeep dealership, and my dad, Dell, worked for them,” he said.
Shortly after that, Bratt decided to buy out Haskell and make his dad manager, Riebe said. “Bratt told my dad that if he would manage the store, he’d let him buy in as a ‘sweat equity’ owner, and that’s what my dad did.”
Riebe said his father and mother, Mary Anne, were eventually able to buy the store; in the early 1960s, they changed the name to Riebes Auto Parts and expanded from one store to three.
“Then a partner and I started another business and started buying stores, but we used the Riebes name,” he said. “So for a long time we were two separate corporations, although no one really knew that. Then in 2000 we merged it all back together as Riebes Auto Parts.”
Riebe said his parents survived World War II and the Great Depression, and they believed in a certain high standard of integrity and honesty in the way they treated people.
“And we’ve kept those beliefs as the basis of our business practice,” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why we have respect in the industry; we treat everybody right.”
Dell and Mary Anne Riebe were so committed to the business that they continued to develop and expand the company until they died, Riebe said. “My dad was the kind of guy who wanted to die with his boots on, so to speak, so he worked here until he got ill and died of cancer in 1996, and mom stayed on until she died in 2005.”
Through the years, the company has grown to become the second-largest NAPA Auto Parts distributor in the U.S.; Riebe said, with 20 locations, five with complete machine shops. “Our machine shops offer resurfacing, engine rebuilding, hot-tanking, bead blasting, press work, cylinder head service, and hydraulic hose fabricating,” he said.
Riebe said his stores service customers in Northern California as far north as Chico, south to Jackson and east to Colfax. “We have eight outside salesmen that make regular calls on our customers,” he said. “And all of our stores offer delivery; we make scheduled runs to outlying areas and hot-shot the local market.”
Riebe said to help keep the company true to its customer-centric credo, his in-store personnel are given continual training on product knowledge, management, and customer service and use the company intranet to distribute new product information to employees and managers.
“As for our delivery team, they are trained on proper lifting techniques, vehicle safety, and customer service,” he said.
At present, Riebe said he carries more than 300 product lines and adds more as he sees lines that compliment what they have. “We add new lines all the time. People want parts that are OE quality,” he said. “This year we have focused on OE and imports.”
Among the product lines doing well for the company, Riebe cited NAPA, Raybestos, and Akebono. “Brakes are way up, as is electrical, engine management, and batteries,” he said. “In fact, we are the No. 1 NAPA battery seller in the company. During the winter months we also sell a lot of traction devices, tire chains and cables, to shops near the ski areas.”
Companywide, Riebe said, his customer base is about 50 percent retail and 50 percent wholesale. “Our wholesale customers are the silver lining,” he said. “The vast majority of them are hard-working people who may have fallen on hard times, so we help them in any way we can to get through this.”
To show how important his wholesale customers are, Riebe said he has a full-time staff member that does nothing but customer relations. “We send out monthly dealer fliers with specials and new-product news, hold a fishing derby, golf tournament, and car races,” he said. “We could buy an ad and reach them, but we really enjoy doing this; it’s genuine.”
Riebe said his wholesale customers have really benefited from the loss of so many car dealers. “New or late-model repairs are finding their way to the independent shops due to the fact that the nearest car dealer may now be too far away,” he said.
That also drives tool and equipment purchases, Riebe said. “Shop owners often have to buy new tools and equipment to handle warranty maintenance and repair service,” he said.
The retail side of business is also seeing more activity, Riebe said. “The weak economy and the fact that so many people are out of work and on furloughs have given retail customers more time to do their own repairs.”
While the company doesn’t share exact figures, Riebe said staying true to his parents’ original business model has helped his company achieve considerable growth in 2009.
“We have experienced huge growth in both wholesale and retail. And a lot of that is due to NAPA,” he said. “They offer the best distribution, training, national warranty, and AutoCare programs hands down.”
