O'Reilly Auto adds two Western distribution centers

Springfield-based O'Reilly Automotive Inc. has added two more distribution centers in its recently acquired Western territories.

In its continuing effort to integrate the assets of its July 2008 purchase of Phoenix-based CSK Auto Corp., O'Reilly completed a purchase last week of a 210,000-square-foot distribution center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the lease of a 520,000-square-foot facility in Stockton, Calif., both from California-based Buzz Oates Group of Cos.

The companies did not disclose terms of the transactions, but real estate news site GlobeSt.com reports that O'Reilly paid $12.5 million for the Utah facility.

The Salt Lake City center is being built-to-suit for O'Reilly and will open in May, according to O'Reilly spokesman Mark Merz. The Stockton facility is converting to the O'Reilly system in anticipation of a fall opening, he said.

The two additions are part of what will eventually be six new distribution centers to cover the 10 states added when O'Reilly purchased CSK's 1,350 stores in the roughly $1 billion deal. O'Reilly has more than 3,400 stores in 38 states, according to www.oreillyauto.com.

Aside from the Salt Lake City and Stockton centers, the company also has purchased facilities in Seattle, Moreno Valley, Calif., and Denver. The Seattle facility opened in November, while the remaining two will come on line in January and March, respectively. The company also plans to convert CSK's Phoenix distribution center to open in December 2010.

"These centers complete the distribution expansion that we'll need," Merz said. "But the process of building these distribution centers out, getting them stocked, trained and opened, won't be complete until 2010."

He added that the remaining CSK retail stores will convert to the O'Reilly model when the company opens the distribution center serving those locations.

Shares of O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) closed Monday at $38.17, compared to a 52-week range of $26.47 to $42.93.