Burson Auto Parts turns 50

Australia’s Burson Auto Parts will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2021, marking five decades of operations with a number of trade promotions and events throughout the year.

The ‘true blue’ Burson Auto Parts success story started in 1971, when company founders Ron Burgoine (the ‘Bur’ in Burson) and Garry Johnson (the ‘son’ in Burson) began selling auto parts to Victorian automotive workshops from the boot of their cars.

Since then it has become one of Australia’s biggest trade suppliers of automotive parts, tools, accessories and workshop equipment, with 190 stores nationwide, more than 1000 suppliers, 1800 staff and about 30,000 trade customers.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Burson Auto Parts achieved record revenue growth in 2020 and is on track to reach 200 stores in this financial year and its strategic target of 240 stores within the next five years.

Now part of the country’s largest automotive aftermarket specialised company, Bapcor Limited, Burson Auto Parts opened its first distribution store in 1978, in the Melbourne suburb of Braybrook.

After a gradual period of solid growth in Victoria, where the small company took on more established spare parts suppliers, Burson Auto Parts opened its first interstate store in 1984, in Albury (NSW).

In 1986, Johnson bought out his partner and oversaw a 15-store network by the following year, before the 25th Burson Auto Parts store was opened in 1996, requiring a new, purpose-built head office and 15,000-square-metre distribution centre in the Melbourne suburb of Preston.

The following three years saw a further 16 stores added to the Burson Auto Parts network in NSW and Queensland, where the company acquired 11 Coventry Group stores. Combined with greenfield locations, the company reached the 50-store milestone in 2004.

Five more NSW stores joined the network in 2006 and over the next four years 11 more in South Australia and the first in the Northern Territory were added, bringing the total to more than 80 by 2011.

After four decades at the helm, Johnson sold Burson Auto Parts to Quadrant Private Equity in October 2011 and the new management team led by Darryl Abotomey opened its 100th store in May 2012.

The following year the company acquired the Brisbane-based Precision Auto Spares Group, adding another four stores, and opened an additional eight stores across Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

Burson Auto Parts became a publicly listed company in April 2014, making its debut on the Australian Stock Exchange as Burson Group Limited. The following year it became truly national, with stores located in every Australian state and territory, and the addition of an 8000-square-metre distribution centre in Brisbane.

In July 2015, Bursons acquired Metcash Automotive Holdings, making it Australia’s leading provider of automotive parts, accessories, equipment, service and solutions, and in 2016 Burson Group Limited became Bapcor Limited (ASX:BAP), an acronym of Burson Auto Parts.

BAP then expanded into Asia, opening the first Burson Auto Parts store in Thailand, where a further five Burson Auto Parts stores have since opened.

A number of major Bapcor acquisitions over the next four years substantially increased Burson’s automotive component and equipment product range, while also growing the company’s light and heavy commercial vehicle parts portfolio.

Precision Automotive Equipment, Bearing Wholesalers, Roadsafe Automotive Products, Baxters Auto Electrical and MTQ Engine Systems joined the Bapcor fold in 2016, while Tricor Engineering, AADi Australia, Commercial Truck Parts Group, Toperformance Products, Truckline and Diesel Drive also became a part of the Bapcor Group.

In 2017 Bapcor acquired the publicly listed Hellaby business in New Zealand which included BNT, a New Zealand trade-focused business similar to Burson, as well as specialist wholesale businesses in Australia including JAS, PAT, Diesel Distributors and Federal Batteries.

According to the company, it is now the region’s largest automotive aftermarket specialist company with an unparalleled footprint of trade, specialist wholesale and retail segments across more than 1100 locations in Australia and New Zealand.

Co-founder Garry Johnson, who remains a major Bapcor shareholder, said the key to the company’s success was its emphasis on supplying premium quality products from local and global brands – a commitment to the trade that continues today.

“This has been an exciting journey, with a great deal of worry and great achievement against inevitable headwinds,” he said.

“Most of all it was a shared journey, initially with Ron Burgoine and then for the greater part with Andrew Schram, Terry Penney and all the staff at Team Burson. It is great to see both the excitement and the growth continue so strongly 50 years down the track.”

Bapcor Limited CEO and managing director, Darryl Abotomey, said: “The Burson Auto Parts story across its half decade history is one of how two Aussies with a good idea, sound automotive technical knowledge and a hard work ethic were able to create a brand with a level of service that has since become synonymous with automotive repairers across the country.

“From the humblest of beginnings, this Australian company was able to forge its place against major opposition, with steady and gradual growth for as long as that could be achieved under private ownership.

“Now as the heart and soul of the Bapcor Group, we are privileged to continue the exciting Burson Auto Parts journey and establish a platform for continued success across the next 50 years.”