In the zone with Autozone: Keeping a legacy alive
Having first opened its doors in 1987, the spares shop has always been a community favourite.
Following a recent acquisition by a well-known business, Andre’s Parts Centre is now officially trading as Autozone.
Despite this, the establishment remains committed to its level of customer satisfaction and has staff members that are welcoming and go above and beyond to ensure that customers are satisfied and always happy.
The store, located at 43 Village Street, was recently sold to Autozone following the death of its former owner, Andre Appelgryn, who worked tirelessly over the years with his wife Rina to secure the success of the business.
Andre and Rina started the spares shop on 1 December 1987 after moving to Randfontein from the Kalahari with their two daughters, Sandri and Jolandi. The shop has always been a community favourite.
According to Sandri, they stayed with her maternal grandfather Jose Fourie, in Randfontein, who was selling exhausts at the time, and that’s how the idea of starting a spares shop came about.
Hard work and dedication ensured its growth over the years, which helped the Appelgryn family purchase a new building along the same street in 1995, with lots of parking space.
The Herald spoke to Sandri who ran the business after her father passed away. She mentioned that her family’s perseverance is what provided for them, as well as the families of their employees throughout the years, and that Andre’s Parts Centre is steeped in history.
As the executrix of the late estates of both her parents, Sandri could not see the business being closed after her father’s passing. She, therefore, managed the business with the assistance of Christo Jansen and the staff until the point where it was sold to Autozone on the 1st of May. She explained that as it had always been her father’s dream to sell the business to Autozone, she was determined to see this happen.
With the spares shop being her pride and joy, she is confident that the business is in the right hands and that the Autozone brand will ensure the legacy of her father continues to live on, even decades after his passing.
“My father had a good relationship with Autozone and was a member of the company for the longest time, so selling the place to the company made sense.
Autozone is a reputable company that will be able to take the baton and do amazing things with it. My father’s work ethic is reflected by the Autozone family and we are therefore confident that the business will be a great success.
“They will also retain the staff members and that’s what we wanted. Some of our employees have been with us for more than 15 years and our longest-serving employee is Jackie Swanepoel who has been with the company for 32 years,” Sandri said.
Walking around the shop, one gets a sense of love and loyalty to the Andre Parts Centre legacy and this is a testament to the fact that the employees have truly become family.
Although the store is positioned in different spaces along Village Street, they work hand in hand with one another and the employees show a great deal of dedication to their work, which has helped take the company to great heights over the years.
Sandri would like to thank every family member, employee, and customer who has helped her mother and father develop a business that will continue to thrive under the new ownership of Autozone.
The spares shop will have a grand opening on Saturday, July 1, and customers who purchase items worth more than R250 will get a boerewors roll on the house.
They also have amazing specials running from today until July 1, which include a draw, which will take place at the grand opening at noon.
