NAPA Crosses the Border

The National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA), a division of Genuine Parts Co., Atlanta, operates more than 6,000 stores in the U.S., as well as in Colombia, Venezuela and China. Now add Mexico to the list.

The auto-parts giant signed a deal with Grupo Empresarial Martinez Chavarria-Garcia, one of Mexico's largest passenger bus companies, to open stores throughout Mexico's Northeastern states.

According to Carlos Chavarria, head of the Mexican group, NAPA plans to open four stores, which will cost an estimated $700,000 to $1 million, in the northern industrial capital of Monterrey this year.