How much hidden competitors are siphoning from the aftermarket
Many leading aftermarket product brands are losing significant sales share as parts move through the traditional distribution system, according to a recent report.
More than USD$55 billion in product sales have shifted to hidden competitors over the last five years, according to Lang Marketing.
Lang labelled the trend “brand share shrink,” describing how brand share can drop as products move from warehouses to jobbers and then to service stations and garages. The agency measured the strength of the top five brands across 75 product categories at different levels of the traditional channel each year.
In 2024, the five leading brands across those categories averaged about 84 per cent warehouse share. Yet Lang says share loss accelerated from 2020 to 2024, with the leading brands’ combined share shrinking by 64 per cent between the warehouse and service station and garage levels.
The volume impact has mounted over time. In 2014, brand share shrink equalled a $9 billion loss in service station and garage product volume for leading brands when compared with their warehouse share. Lang projected the gap will top $12 billion in 2025 alone, and estimates cumulative brand share shrink for the five top brands will pass $55 billion at user price between 2020 and 2025 across the 75 products.
Lang said many manufacturers that dominate at the warehouse level are unaware of the sales being captured by competitors by the time products reach service bays. It described those rivals as “hidden,” noting they often are not active at the traditional warehouse tier. Increased competition from other distribution channels, along with e‑commerce, is a key driver as alternative routes and marketing methods help competitors reach service stations and garages and take share from warehouse leaders.
The firm expects the multibillion-dollar impact to accelerate as online purchasing expands among service stations and garages. Lang said it has tracked fast growth in business-to-business auto parts volume, saying B2B sales have grown at an annual rate more than 12 times that of the total U.S. light‑vehicle product market since 2015.
As internet parts purchasing increases, Lang said more volume will bypass traditional distribution, taking sales share at the service station and garage level that once aligned with brands holding dominant positions in traditional warehouses.
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