Lordco Auto Parts wrapped up its annual two-day tradeshow, the 36^th Annual, with a solid representation on the visitor and sales side and a couple of additional themes rising to the top.

The event, which has become a cornerstone of Canada’s automotive aftermarket, regularly attracts thousands of shop professional to the Pacific National Exhibition ground in Vancouver, B.C.

Due to timing and—this year in particular—the extended winter in other parts of Canada, it provides a welcome unofficial kickoff for the spring selling season for vendors who have made their way across the country through various event, mostly trudging the snow to do so.

Vancouver in contrast presented mild temperatures, grassy lawns and blooming flower gardens.

For visitors and vendor exhibitors alike, the show presented its customary strong buying opportunities but with the added wrinkle of some new suppliers and new opportunities consequent to the dismantling of First Brands which had been a significant supplier to Lordco.

This was most readily apparent with the addition of WIX Filters as a key automotive filters supplier but vendors across the spectrum reported rising opportunities particularly in filters and brakes due to the exit of the major automotive supplier from the market.

The shifts certainly provided it’s measure of excitement and enthusiasm, even as it asks customers to pivot.
“Yeah, I think it’s exciting for our staff,” says Ian Coates, VP Marketing at Lordco. “We’ve got a lot of them here—our outside sales team and management—so it’s a great opportunity for them to learn about the new products we’re carrying and take that back to customers.

“And for customers, too—some of them haven’t fully heard about these changes yet, so this is a great event to showcase those new vendors.”

“Of course. In this industry, those [old vendor] part numbers get ingrained in your brain,” he says with a laugh. “So, it’s definitely going to be a shift. But we’ve got cross-reference sheets, so we’re covered; they’ll just have to learn some new numbers.”

But dealing with change is almost a founding principle of Lordco; co-founder (and Ian’s father) the late Ed Coates was fond of breaking out into Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” on a regular basis.
“Exactly. Fresh inventory, new lines—it is definitely exciting.”