David Brashears, director of marketing, Automotive Accessories Marketing USA (AAM),
recently talked about his company and the value he sees in
Truck and Off-Road Alliance
(TORA) membership.What does your company do?
We are a program distribution group that provides retail-level marketing to customers
of our group of wholesale distributors.
How many years have you been in business?
26.
What is your company's history?
AAM was organized by a group of performance wholesale distributors as a way to
be more competitive regionally with national distributors. The founders recognized
the need for retail marketing and knew that by working together, they'd be able
to provide top-quality marketing tools at a cost retailers could afford. They named
the program Parts Pro Performance Centers and today have marketing programs available
to independent speed shops, engine builders, installers and other performance retailers.
In 2007, AAM developed its second brand, Total Truck Centers, after recognizing
the need for a similar program in the light-truck and off-road market. The program
was immediately embraced by the manufacturers and has been successful every year
since.
How many employees work at your company?
There are more than 400 employees within AAM and our member warehouses.
Why are you an TORA member?
TORA is a natural fit for AAM and Total Truck Centers, since we want to learn
more about industry trends and maintain an open dialogue with our manufacturers
and associations. We're always looking for ideas about how to serve our clients
and their customers with excellent marketing and the very best products.
Anything exciting you see happening in the truck market or in your company?
We are very interested in the trends toward high-efficiency engines, smaller diesels and forced-induction platforms. We are looking forward to seeing what these new platforms mean for the TORA marketplace and how manufacturers will evolve to meet new challenges. In our company, we are excited to see our retail stores beginning to embrace digital marketing as a way to reach their local markets.