Mighty Marks 50 Years of Franchising

Jan. 14, 2020

The parts distributor has grown to bring more franchises and services into the fold over the decades.

Jan. 14, 2020—This year is the fifth decade of franchising for the Georgia-headquartered Mighty Distributing System, according to a press release.

Mighty was founded in 1963, and early distributors supplied ignition products to service stations and garages from step vans known as "warehouses on wheels," the release said. The market for replacement preventative maintenance parts revealed itself and brought opportunity to Mighty.

The first franchised Mighty launched in Virginia in 1970 through a recruitment process. The company has grown a lot since then.

"Adding a B2B recruitment initiative was a game-changer for Mighty," the release said. "Multi-store owners of tire dealerships, lube centers, and auto dealerships were attracted to the opportunity to “bolt on” an autonomous business unit to not only create a centralized supply division for their own outlets, but to also sell to other automotive professionals. In addition, select wholesale suppliers of related automotive products were attracted to the synergies available through converting to or adding a Mighty franchise."

Its operation has expanded over the years to include wholesale distribution, inventory management and training resources.

“Propelled by a full-service franchise support platform continuously refined over the decades, the Mighty brand has reached heights unimaginable 50 years ago,” said Mighty CEO Ken Voelker in the release. “I’m proud to say that in 2019, we achieved our seventh consecutive year of record system sales."

Photo: The 2018 opening of Mighty's Jackson, Tenn. warehouse expansion.