Quick oil change operator Lube Stop announced Monday the acquisition of The Grease Spot, another oil change chain with 13 locations in Illinois and Iowa. The transaction makes Lube Stop the 15th-largest chain in the United States, according to one industry publication.
A unit of private investment firm Argonne Capital Group, Cleveland-based Lube Stop had 37 shops in Northeastern Ohio before the acquisition, which made it the 18th-largest U.S. quick lube chain according to National Oil & Lube News 2015 Tops in the Industry Ranking. With 50 locations now, the chain moves into the 15th spot.
Argonne acquired Lube Stop last year, and officials said the chain aims to make more acquisitions in the future.
We are excited to have crossed the 50-store mark with this deal and look forward to facilitating Lube Stops continued growth in the automotive service sector, Argonne Senior Vice President Bill Weimar said in a news release.
Lube Stop President Tony Cammerata explained that further growth will probably be incremental, and that the company has no desire to become one of the biggest chains. According to NOLN, as of Feb. 28, 2015, Jiffy Lube was the leader with 1,928 stores, followed by Valvoline Instant Oil Change (929 stores), Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change (700 stores), Kwik Kar (398 stores) and Valvoline Express Care (315 stores).
This is more about customer service than about numbers of locations, he told Lube Report. There are a lot of [quick lube] businesses out there, but there are a lot of bad businesses, too.