"I had always wanted to own a NAPA store," said Shaffer, who purchased the longtime NAPA Auto Parts store on 32nd Street in Boulder the spring of 2006.  "It's really easy to sell something when you believe in it."

Shaffer said his journey with GPC on the path to ownership has equipped him with the necessary skills to run a successful parts store.

His experience includes working as a counterman and an outside salesman at an independently owned NAPA store in Vancouver, Wash., and a store in Bozeman, Mont., while attending Montana State University, he said.

The journey then continued to Denver, where Shaffer said he worked for the Denver NAPA Distribution Center, representing GPC's Balkamp line.

"I had the opportunity to work with a lot of good parts store owners and see how they do things," he said.  "I got the chance to do most jobs over the last few years."

Shaffer said his experience has allowed him to learn the GPC system, logistics, and people to get things done for customers.  "The best part is when you partner with them and help them grow their business.

"I love it," he said of the ownership experience.  "It's demanding, but the rewards are well worth it."

When he first purchased the store, Shaffer said, his initial emphasis was on customer service.  "We had to become more customer-service oriented," he said. "If you take care of the customer, sales will grow."

That meant matching the store's inventory with the demands of his customers, he said.  "I revamped the inventory and spent a great portion of my time getting that adjusted.

"The success of the store lies in purchasing," Shaffer said.  "We buy mostly direct from the manufacturers because of a deeper discount."  Many bulk commodity items, such as chemicals, are purchased from the nearby NAPA Denver Distribution Center, he said.

GPC's Marketplace Inventory Classification (MIC) allowed Shaffer to tailor his inventory to the inventory to the Boulder market, he said, which is heavily weighted by vehicle registrations.  In doing so, he said he realized that import vehicles are prevalent in the area.

The Altrom line of OEM brand import parts helps him meet customer demand with brand names such as Mann for filers, Lemforder for chassis parts, and Conti-tech for timing components, Shaffer said.  "NAPA has always been very wholesale focused, offering products and lines installers are looking for." 

 
That dedication to the wholesale business also comes in the form of factory and manufacturer field representation for NAPA Auto Care Centers, he said.

To service his wholesale accounts and seven NAPA Auto Care Centers, Shaffer said he runs eight delivery trucks in the Boulder area, including service to central Gilpin County.  He also employs an outside salesman, Gary Gondreau, a former Echlin employee.

Approximately 70 percent of Shaffer's business is to wholesale customers and the other 30 is retail, he said.  That combined business allowed him and his 18-member crew to earn NAPA's Five Star store status last year, he said.

There are several benchmarks that Shaffer said he looks at to measure performance and make sure he's meeting his budgeted sales numbers.  For example, he said, he pays close attention to payroll versus gross profit.

"We use these types of measurements to make sure we're doing what we need to do," he said.  "If you stick to these things, you'll be where you need to be."