Reddi Brake’s New Stores Increase Income

Reddi Brake Supply Corp., a Ventura-based distributor of auto parts to mechanics, reports that sales nearly doubled in March over the same month last year, due mainly to the opening of new outlets.

Net sales last month totaled $4.5 million, compared to $2.3 million in March, 1994, the company said.

Among stores that have been open 12 months or longer, sales increased 6% on a year-to-year basis.

Reddi announced last month that it expected disappointing earnings in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. The company said it had overestimated the mechanics’ market for new auto parts in the Southeast and Midwest, with the result that it won’t meet analysts’ earnings expectations.

Bruce Douglass, president and chief executive, said same-store sales suffered in the storms that hit parts of California, where 19 of Reddi’s 93 outlets are located. In addition, he said, the year-ago period “was an extremely strong month, which diminished the percentage increase.”

Reddi opened four new outlets in March--in South San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Louisville and Baltimore.

“As we continue to expand, our short-term strategy is to open additional outlets in areas familiar with the Reddi Brake concept,” Douglass said.

Reddi Brake distributes brake systems, chassis components and other car parts, mainly to professional mechanics.