CARQUEST held its 2019 Ontario Jobber Conference from September 20-22 in Niagara Falls with 350 attending! The Friday Trade Show had members and suppliers discussing business, seeing new products, and getting questions answered.

Saturday brought forth some lively presentations. Nathan Shipley, NPD Group, a market research company that measures how consumers shop across all channels talked about the state and future of the automotive aftermarket. Dr. Peter Frise talked about future automotive technology. He said that consumers now want better value, better performance and a better price! He also talked about materials that are being used today in batteries—i.e. lithium and cobalt which could become very scarce! Future cars will be different and will not require 50-70 percent of the maintenance as current vehicles do and much more, but, they will still have batteries, tires, cabin air filters, windshield wipers, infotainment systems. Some good news!

Football legend, Mike ‘Pinball’ Clements—one of the most accomplished athletes in the Canadian Football League and the first African American to coach in the Grey Cup—wrapped up the presentations. He’s in the CFL Hall of Fame and four-time Grey Cup winner with the Toronto Argos, one of them as head coach! He’s a huge believer in family and supporting them to the best of his ability and told attendees they should make this a priority. He also said, “Tell people you value them; let ego go; find the best in people; your best should be better; be trustworthy; your employees can be part of the solution, and teach not tell!”

The gala Awards Dinner and Dance wrapped up the conference and was certainly enjoyed by all.