Autozone Case Summary

No, AutoZone is not immune to economic downturns. No business is immune in an economic downturn, they’re all at risk. During the economic crisis, AutoZone focused on the customer and how they could save them money.
During economically difficult times the average person is not seeking to make major purchases such as new automobiles and homes. Financially, they may need to make repairs to what they currently have. In this case, some customers had to take responsibility for their own car repairs or pay an unlicensed technician to do it at minimal costs. With that said, that was the market area that Autozone focused on and it paid off. With that came, do-it-yourself, options (Arnold, 2014). This opened doors for customers to learn to take care

of their own repairs such as oil changes, replacing brakes, changing a belt, and many other minor duties or repairs.
Autozones’s customer service is another area which allowed them to standout from their competitors. Before I was married, I went to AutoZone to purchase car parts for repairs. Their sales person or customer service representatives were extremely beneficial in helping me determine which parts I needed. The additional services that they offer are a benefit to anyone. By experience and visits to their stores, representatives will test your batteries before purchasing a new one, change a headlight, windshield wipers and many other services that can save the customer money in labor costs. Autozone’s greatest asset is the ability to see and understand the need for change in efforts to better serve their customers. During the crisis, they understand the economic need of customers and introduced do-it-yourself into the automarket. They profited and their customers saved money. Innovation and following a strategic process is the key to continued growth and success (Parnell, 2017).
Reference:
Arnold, E. (2014, January 24). AutoZone's strategic tuneup. Retrieved: December 3, 2017. From:
https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/print-edition/2014/01/24/autozones-strategic-tuneup-commercial.html

Parnell, J. A. (2017). Strategic management: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Academic Media Solutions.