O'Reilly Auto opens 4,000th store

Springfield-based O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) hit a company milestone this weekend with the opening of its 4,000th store.

On Saturday, officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 7,200-square-foot store in Tampa, Fla., according to a news release.

"It is a testament to our team members' commitment to our customer service culture that 10 years ago we operated less than 1,000 stores, and (now) we are opening our 4,000th store," O'Reilly President and CEO Greg Henslee said in the release. "This milestone is a reflection of our growth strategy, and we are excited to continue this growth in Florida with the opening of a distribution center in Lakeland in early 2014, which will support our existing and future Florida stores."

The parts supplier has committed to building a 390,000-square-foot distribution center in Lakeland.

O'Reilly spokesman Mark Merz said the company crossed the 3,000-store threshold in 2008 when it acquired roughly 1,350 stores in 22 states from Phoenix-based CSK Auto Corp.