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Fastenal opens 73 new branches in first nine months of 2012

Oct. 11, 2012
Lots of interesting nuggets in the Fastenal’s 3Q 2012 press release. In addition to growing sales at a double-digit rate for the quarter, the company continued on its remarkable trajectory of branch openings and the installation of company-branded ...

Lots of interesting nuggets in the Fastenal’s 3Q 2012 press release. In addition to growing sales at a double-digit rate for the quarter, the company continued on its remarkable trajectory of branch openings and the installation of company-branded vending machines for MRO supplies within customer facilities. Sales for the Winona, Minn.-based MRO specialist sales increased 10.4% during its most recent quarter and 14.9% YTY.

But what really blows my mind is that Fastenal, has so far this year opened up 73 stores – giving it a total of 2,650 branches – and installing 9,560 new industrial vending machines during the first nine months of 2012. As a point of comparison, the five largest full-line electrical distributors – Sonepar, WESCO, Rexel, Graybar and CED – has a combined total of “only” 2,322 branches, according to Electrical Wholesaling estimates. In addition to its2012 branch openings, Fastenal opened up 94 branches during the first nine months of2011, giving it a running total of 167 new branches in the past two years. Details