Richard Roy, president and CEO of Uni-Select, Inc., encapsulates the company’s strategy as this: “We’ve always had a real focus on the independent distributors. This is our bread and butter.”

Roy described Uni-Select’s past and future at Tuesday’s AASA Executive Breakfast at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX).

With once humble beginnings, the group started in 1968 as a collective of 12 jobbers who decided to buy some selected lines.

The distribution group pulls in $1.4 billion in revenue and has grown annually at a 5 percent compound annual growth rate over the last five years, says Roy.

Roy also outlined some highlights from Uni-Select’s strategic plan, which was put into place last year.

Uni-Select plans to actively pursue acquisitions, and the group’s track record bears this out. “In 2007 and 2008 we added 2,000 employees to our workforce,” he says.

The group also plans to expand its foreign nameplate coverage and explore opportunities outside its traditional footprint.

As far as execution, Uni-Select will continue to focus on independent jobbers, maintaining the concept of an open warehouse. “We certainly believe the independents are here to say,” Roy adds.

Uni-Select also will focus on reducing the assets employed while maintaining or improving service level. “If we don’t do that we’ll reorganize ourselves out of a position in the market.”

For technology systems, Roy says the group’s major warehouses will be paperless by 2012.

Roy outlined Uni-Select’s expectations from vendors: excellent fill rate; good coverage (being first to market for late model applications); competitive pricing; product expertise and a well-trained sales force.