Auto parts giant moving in next to high school

AutoZone is setting up shop at 311 Union Avenue, the building next to Laconia High School last occupied by Brooks Pharmacy.

The building, which originally housed Mr. Grocer, was acquired in 2004 by Blaisdell Realty Trust of Wayland, Massachusetts on behalf of Frank E. Normandin, for $610,000. In 1994, the building had been roughly halved in size to house a pharmacy.

With 8,8704 square feet of floor space on .9 acres, an unfinished basement of equal size and about 40 parking spaces, the building mirrors the standards of between 6,500 and 8,000 square feet and 25 to 40 parking spaces at an "up-front, high impact location" that AutoZone sets for its outlets. Although there are no plans to alter the footprint of the building, representatives of AutoZone have discussed cosmetic changes to the building, including signage, with Planning Director Shanna Saunders.

John Leonard, district manager for AutoZone, said yesterday that he will ultimately oversee the store, he had yet to visit the location or become familiar with the building. He said that company, which owns all of its stores and has no franchises, operates at 14 locations in New Hampshire.

AutoZone, which began in 1979 as Auto Shack, a single automobile parts store in Forrest, Arizona, today owns and operates 3,955 stores in 48 states and another 108 in Mexico and employs more than 52,000 people. For the fourth straight year, sales grew four percent in 2006 to flirt with $6-billion. AutoZone has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1991 and joined the Fortune 500 list of companies in 1999. Headquartered in Memphis Tennessee, AutoZone commands approximately 15 percent of the more than $35 billion market in after-market auto parts.