PRISM Q&A CORNER
Christopher Davenport, AutoParts4LessAutoParts4Less: Closing the Circuit On the Automotive Parts Marketplace
The automotive parts industry is made up of a large, highly fragmented and varied group of sellers including manufacturers, warehouse distributors, auto dealerships, national chains and local parts retailers.Additionally, horizontal marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon participate in this group as well.
AutoParts4Less (OTCQB: FLES) is creating a world class e-commerce marketplace to build a network that aggregates both buyers and sellers of automotive parts and is utilizing integrated technologies that optimize the listing, selling and shipping of these parts. This seamless digital experience has the potential to create value for the entire auto parts industry.
We spoke to Christopher Davenport, AutoParts4Less’ CEO, to find out more.
Q:A:In 2015 I started selling lift kits and other aftermarket parts through an established e-commerce web site called LiftKits4Less.com. At the end of 2018, we saw an opportunity to build a bigger business and go after a larger market an US audience estimated at $500Bn. We did a reverse merger with MedCareers Group and began trading on the OTC:Pink under the ticker FLES. A year later, we bought the URL AutoParts4Less.com to build the marketplace online and by 2021 we had uplisted to the OTCQB. By November of 2022, the site ap4less.com went live with over 1.9M products. LiftKits4Less.com had to take a pause due to Covid but is coming back unlike many other businesses who had to shut down. That business has generated roughly $65M in historic sales.
Q:A: These models are some of the most disruptive business models used today. The top five platform economy-based businesses equate to $7.4 trillion in market cap as well as 22% of the S&P 500. Three of those five are marketplaces. Corporations such as Amazon, Etsy, Uber, Airbnb and Instacart have all seen success through the utilization of this marketplace platform that benefit from network effects.
Q:A:Attracting both buyers and sellers together is the hardest part of achieving success in these scenarios and is what is known as the Cold Start Problem. Auto Parts 4 Less hasn’t had to do that and already has grown its network of buyers and sellers organically. We have 327 applied sellers with a catalogue of over 6M parts since going live in November 2022 and over 4300 registered members or buyers on the platform.
Q:A:Obviously, there are the auto parts retailers everyone knows as Advance Auto, Auto Zone, O’Reilly etc. However, as a pure play competitor, Auto Parts 4 Less competes more on the level of Amazon, eBay and Walmart due to them having established the same essential business model. Our competitive advantage over more traditional auto parts retailers is through utilizing network effects unique to platform models in addition we have low capex business model with a minimum number of employees.
Q:A:Yes, our last two releases over the past month have provided insight to our investors on the strides we have been making to strengthen the balance sheet through two successful debt conversions. In March, we converted debt and accounts payable that totaled approximately $1.7M into common stock with a two-year lock-up period. This not only alleviates the financial burden on the company, but it aligns the interests of Auto Parts 4 Less and its creditors, for the long term. We continue to diligently work toward maintaining a strong balance sheet and pursue strategic opportunities that will drive value for shareholders.
Q:A:Auto Parts 4 Less has implemented a commission model that charges 10% of each product sold on the site. We have also activated a warranty program that is offered to buyers through the AP4L marketplace. In addition to these we will be exploring additional models to increase our revenue streams that include subscription services to charge sellers to list on the marketplace, advertising to sell ad space or sponsored search results throughout the site and a B2B sales program that would charge fees to connect B2B transactions.
The automotive parts industry is made up of a large, highly fragmented and varied group of sellers including manufacturers, warehouse distributors, auto dealerships, national chains and local parts retailers.Additionally, horizontal marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon participate in this group as well.
AutoParts4Less (OTCQB: FLES) is creating a world class e-commerce marketplace to build a network that aggregates both buyers and sellers of automotive parts and is utilizing integrated technologies that optimize the listing, selling and shipping of these parts. This seamless digital experience has the potential to create value for the entire auto parts industry.
We spoke to Christopher Davenport, AutoParts4Less’ CEO, to find out more.
In 2015 I started selling lift kits and other aftermarket parts through an established e-commerce web site called LiftKits4Less.com. At the end of 2018, we saw an opportunity to build a bigger business and go after a larger market an US audience estimated at $500Bn. We did a reverse merger with MedCareers Group and began trading on the OTC:Pink under the ticker FLES. A year later, we bought the URL AutoParts4Less.com to build the marketplace online and by 2021 we had uplisted to the OTCQB. By November of 2022, the site ap4less.com went live with over 1.9M products. LiftKits4Less.com had to take a pause due to Covid but is coming back unlike many other businesses who had to shut down. That business has generated roughly $65M in historic sales.
These models are some of the most disruptive business models used today. The top five platform economy-based businesses equate to $7.4 trillion in market cap as well as 22% of the S&P 500. Three of those five are marketplaces. Corporations such as Amazon, Etsy, Uber, Airbnb and Instacart have all seen success through the utilization of this marketplace platform that benefit from network effects.
Attracting both buyers and sellers together is the hardest part of achieving success in these scenarios and is what is known as the Cold Start Problem. Auto Parts 4 Less hasn’t had to do that and already has grown its network of buyers and sellers organically. We have 327 applied sellers with a catalogue of over 6M parts since going live in November 2022 and over 4300 registered members or buyers on the platform.
Obviously, there are the auto parts retailers everyone knows as Advance Auto, Auto Zone, O’Reilly etc. However, as a pure play competitor, Auto Parts 4 Less competes more on the level of Amazon, eBay and Walmart due to them having established the same essential business model. Our competitive advantage over more traditional auto parts retailers is through utilizing network effects unique to platform models in addition we have low capex business model with a minimum number of employees.
Yes, our last two releases over the past month have provided insight to our investors on the strides we have been making to strengthen the balance sheet through two successful debt conversions. In March, we converted debt and accounts payable that totaled approximately $1.7M into common stock with a two-year lock-up period. This not only alleviates the financial burden on the company, but it aligns the interests of Auto Parts 4 Less and its creditors, for the long term. We continue to diligently work toward maintaining a strong balance sheet and pursue strategic opportunities that will drive value for shareholders.
Auto Parts 4 Less has implemented a commission model that charges 10% of each product sold on the site. We have also activated a warranty program that is offered to buyers through the AP4L marketplace. In addition to these we will be exploring additional models to increase our revenue streams that include subscription services to charge sellers to list on the marketplace, advertising to sell ad space or sponsored search results throughout the site and a B2B sales program that would charge fees to connect B2B transactions.
