Advance Auto Parts Logo

Advance Auto Parts LogoAdvance Auto Parts Logo PNG

The car will be ready for any race with spare parts from the company. The Advance Auto Parts logo takes the user to the grandstand at the track, where high-speed competitions occur. And, of course, those who use brand details are the first at the finish line.

Advance Auto Parts: Brand overview

Founded:April 29, 1932
Founder:Arthur Taubman
Headquarters:
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Website:advanceautoparts.com

Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest auto parts company in the U.S., with a net annual profit of $500 million. The company serves 5,000 stores and acquired chains operating under its brands (Worldpac and CARQUEST). Provides a large selection of products from 1,100 suppliers and a range of value-added services (battery charging, checking the car’s electrical system, etc.). Its largest shareholders are Freeman Spogli & Co and Vanguard Group, Inc.

The successful auto parts business began in 1932, when Arthur Taubman, the son of Austrian immigrants with only an elementary education, bought his first three stores. His company, Advance Stores, gradually expanded to 54 stores and traded various goods in parallel with the service and repair of cars. The changes that led to Advance Auto Parts’ appearance in its now-famous version firm owed to Nicholas Taubman’s son. It was he who, starting in 1969, changed the direction of the business, choosing parts and expanding the business. Over the next 30 years, until the sale of Freeman Spogli & Co. in 1998, the company grew to 600 stores and annual revenues of 800 million.

Meaning and History

Advance Auto Parts Logo History

The company Advance Auto Parts inherited its name from the retail chain Advance Stores, which American businessman Arthur Taubman purchased in April 1932. Until 1953, it did not have a standard logo, but this did not prevent it from expanding actively: by the end of World War II, the network already had 54 stores selling auto parts.

The earliest brand emblems contained the name in a bold font with angled cuts, placed inside a large dark oval. Over time, the base transformed into an elongated blue rectangle with rounded edges, and non-standard glyphs with individual designs were replaced by a modified Eurostile Heavy Condensed font.

Designers later experimented with different triangular shapes and car silhouettes and began using slanted fonts to create a sense of speed. By 1984, the logo had been filled with red, harmonizing well with black and white. After 1991, the triangle was replaced with a parallelogram. At the beginning of the new millennium, it became a checkered flag, symbolizing the finish line, and passed to the race winner as a trophy.

What is Advance Auto Parts?

This is a large American company specializing in selling auto parts for trucks, vans, SUVs, and cars. The Taubman family founded it in 1932. The brand operates 5,000 stores in North America and supplies parts to its Carquest chain stores and Worldpac wholesalers. The company had more than $10 billion in revenue in 2020.

1953 – 1955Advance Store Logo 1953

In 1953, Advance Store (the former name of Advance Auto Parts) introduced a standard logo for use in advertising. Designers focused on the company name, presenting it in white inside a horizontal black ellipse. They developed individual bold glyphs with cut edges to make the contrast more expressive. The letters are shaped like complex polygons: even the “O” has no curves. The most unusual are the two “A’s,” with the horizontal stroke protruding from the left side and cut off at a sharp angle. The first “A” extends beyond the base, as it is almost three times larger than all other glyphs.

1954 – 1973

Advance Stores Logo 1954

When the auto parts company was renamed to Advance Stores, it had to change its name on the logo. Designers slightly softened the lettering by rounding the edges of the letters. This is a subtle psychological trick: emblems with smooth curves are thought to evoke subconscious trust in consumers. The glyphs themselves became thinner, so the spacing between them widened. The increased interletter spacing improved the perception of the text, making it more legible.

January-May 1973

Advance Auto Logo January-May 1973

1973 – 1979

Advance Auto Parts Logo 1973

After taking over the business from his father, Nicholas started looking to modernize the stores. He gave the firm a more appropriate name, Advance Auto, which defined the subsequent development of the business. The first logo belonged to a transitional period and had only a partial connection to automobiles.

The logo’s shape resembled a license plate – an oval blue plate with Advance Auto inscribed on it. A white border around the edges and a thin black line surround the entire composition, making it complete. The oval shape is also associated with completeness and completeness because going into the Advance stores; you could buy everything you needed.

The vertical slash between the words Advance and Auto separated the two directions of the company’s work. After the war, the company not only serviced cars but also sold a wide variety of goods from toys to furniture to stay afloat.

The light colors of the logo carried a good mood. It showed that the outlets sold goods for the whole family, including children. The blue background was associated with the sky and dreams. It indicated a thriving business, consumer satisfaction, and a cloudless future for the company. The white lettering and white protective trim represented an honest reputation and reliability, which were the company’s foundation.

Nicholas’ father taught him the important principles of building a business – bringing value to people, having a reputation for integrity, treating your employees like family, and serving customers so well by giving them a quality product that they will come back again. These four pillars were the foundation of Advance Auto’s business and are reflected in the choice of color scheme and logo shape.

The black exterior line summed it up, bringing all of the company’s goals together.

May-December 1979

Advance Auto Logo May-December 1979

1980 – 1981

Advance Auto Logo 1980

1981 – 1982

1983 – 1984

Advance Auto Logo 1983

1984 – 1991

Advance Auto Parts Logo 1984

Nicholas Taubman decided to focus the company’s work solely on auto parts. So the name was refined to Advance Auto Parts. The credit line was closed, consumer products were removed from the shelves, and auto repair and service were abandoned. Many parts were brought into the chain’s 100 stores, and the focus was on expanding the company by opening new outlets.

The logo was also completely revamped. The color scheme was red and black. This contrasting solution attracted attention and was well readable from the road. So motorists quickly learned about the new store. The combination of black and red colors reflected energy and aggressive promotion (the number of stores doubled in a few years). Red was associated with a problem, a breakdown, urgent measures needed to restore the car, while black was associated with oil, fuel oil, road repairs, and asphalt.

The company name was placed on two levels. On the top line, in red letters, it said Advance. It signified advancement and progress. Under it in black, the words Auto Parts were written. To the right, the logo was limited by a large triangular sign. In the lower-left corner, in black, was a moving car. The rest of the triangle was red. The triangle echoed the road sign “Caution. Repair Work.” The sign and lettering showed how a breakdown stopped the car’s movement. The parts of the logo that symbolized an obstruction to traffic were marked in red. The solution to the problem in the form of parts needed for the trip was highlighted in black.

1991 – 1997

Advance Auto Parts Logo 1991

By ’91, the company was ranked 8th in the country in the auto parts sales business. Its main goal was to expand as much as possible and buy smaller firms. The logo was changed to one of stability and confidence. The red “stop color” was removed, leaving only black. It resonated well with the road, repairs, and cars.

The entire field of the logo was lined with oblique black lines. They symbolized the multilane roads. It showed the company’s large number of outlets on all the major highways in the country—the firm’s expansion into other states.

The two-tiered placement of the name was retained, but instead of a triangle, the inscription was bounded by a black vertical rectangle. It resembled the marking strip on the road.
The entire logo sloped to the right, in tune with the road traffic.

1997 – 2002

Advance Auto Parts Logo 1999

By 1997, Taubman decided to retire from the business. He hired an agent company to sell the firm since none of the children wanted to continue their father’s business. In 1998, Freeman Spogli & Co. bought 86% of the value. The new owner made adjustments to the company’s visual sign.

The vertical stripes, which interfered with the proper reading of the name, were removed from the logo. And the black rectangle was replaced by red to create contrast; it reflected the words: “Stop! Attention!”, attracting motorists.

2002 – today

Advance Auto Parts Logo

Taubman and his loyal associate Smith left the company entirely, retiring (Nicholas had previously remained on the board of directors). The company was renewed, got a new head, and changed its logo.

The new logo was placed on a red background. The company’s name remained two-tier but executed in a single yellow color. And the red rectangle was replaced by a fluttering chess flag. This marks a new start of the company, without its founders and those who stood at the origins. In addition, Advance Auto Parts actively sponsors races at various levels, including NASCAR and Monster Jam.

Font and Colors

Advance Auto Parts Emblem

The main logo colors are red, black, and yellow.

  • Red is a symbol for the words “Attention! Stop!” which evokes associations with the pressure with which the company conquered the market, increasing the number of stores by 2-2.5 times every couple of years.
  • Black is the color of roads and machine oil. A symbol of experience and reliability.
  • Yellow – the joy and satisfaction which the stores must evoke in the customer’s thanks to the quick service and availability of all the necessary spare parts.

Advance Auto Parts Symbol

The font of the logo has not changed in the last three versions. It is italicized Humanist 521.

Advance Auto Parts color codes

Tangerine YellowHex color:#ffcf00
RGB:255 207 0
CMYK:0 19 100 0
Pantone:PMS 109 C
Fire Engine RedHex color:#ce0e2d
RGB:206 14 45
CMYK:0 93 78 19
Pantone:PMS 185 C
BlackHex color:#000000
RGB:0 0 0
CMYK:0 0 0 100
Pantone:PMS Process Black C