Advance Auto Parts will close 700-plus stores as the list of struggling retailers grows

The auto-parts provider is the latest U.S. chain to downsize as consumers spend less due to rising prices.

Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket-parts provider in North America that serves both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers, said it will close more than 700 of its 5,000 stores in a “strategic plan to improve business performance.” Of those closing, it said 523 will be corporate stores, 204 will be independent locations, and four will be distribution centers.