Will the Pep Boys Name Survive?

Jan. 8, 2016

The acquisition of Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack by Icahn Enterprises LP is expected to be complete by late January or early February. In the meantime, a memo to Pep Boys employees leaves open the question of whether the names of the boys from Philadelphia will last.

In a "frequently asked questions" memo sent to employees, and included in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Pep Boys says:

"Pep Boys is a 94-year-old brand with strong brand equity that we intend to continue to use. Just how it will be used in conjunction with the newly launched Auto Plus brand remains to be determined."

Auto Plus is billionaire Carl Icahn's 'other' automotive aftermarket business. Icahn acquired Auto Plus (formerly Uni-Select USA Inc.) in June 2015, and is looking to merge those 270 stores with Pep Boys' 800-plus stores. (As of Oct. 31, 2015 Pep Boys says it was operating 561 supercenters, 238 service and tire centers and five retail-only stores.)

In the same memo to employees, Pep Boys says there is "very little overlap" between the Auto Plus and Pep Boys stores.