Motorcar Parts of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPAA) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

I mean, that should enable us — now we haven’t given a finite term, but to move us to over $1 billion in revenue. I think the other side of it is that, the industry is interesting right now on the supply side. I think we’re in a great position to take advantage of opportunities that may exist in the inventory — in the industry as the supply chain has generally gone through some hardships, and that leverages — my answer to the second part of your question is, we’ve had Doug Trussle to the Board. And I think Doug brings with him significant industry knowledge and a group behind him that is able to continuously stay focused on that industry knowledge and keep us abreast from a different perspective, more of a sort of a private equity perspective of market opportunities and pros and cons of different things.

So while I think we’ve had a very strong and continue to have a very strong diverse board, I think this strong private equity and industry-related knowledge enables us to really hunker down on really building value. We’ve, I think, done a good job in a lot of areas, but we certainly have not done a good job of building value in our share price. And we want to be focused on delivering results that shareholders can relate to and that will drive our value in the marketplace. And so, I think all of that sort of bodes well for our future. I mean we have spreads now to tackle what we need to tackle. And I believe we’ve got a very exciting opportunity ahead of us.

Jeff Bronchick: What — so with — what is the proper inventory number that you think you can comfortably run to balance the desires of the customer base with your interest in reducing interest expense and creating value for shareholders. Like what do you think that number is [indiscernible] indeterminate period going forward?

Selwyn Joffe: Yes. So I’m not going to talk about a number, but I will say that I’ll give you an inventory turn ratio that I think is much more indicative because we’re growing and I think if you look back historically — well, first of all, before I start talking about that, the number of SKUs that we have to deliver is very significant. We offer over 30,000 SKUs and our fill rate expectations are significant, mostly in the mid-90s and up. And the lead times from our customers are pretty short. So having said that and being an all make all model supplier, we think that the historic turn rate of 4 times a year for finished goods inventory is a level that we should be at. And we’ve been there and that — when we were there, we had very significant fill rates, industry-leading fill rates for that matter and as a result, had incredible support from our customer base.

I think we’ve dropped that down to three and change, and now we’re heading back up to these four turns. And I think for a near-term goal for us that four turns is a realistic one. I mean that doesn’t mean it stops there. But I think that’s the next level for inventory.

Jeff Bronchick: And have you seen — I mean, what has been — my last question. Just in general, because in some ways, one could argue the shareholders have supported the desires and needs of your customers for quite some time. What sort of feedback or — I mean, from either a competitive stance as you raise prices and try to extract inventory back up the customer. What sort of — what things are different, let’s say, today than maybe six or nine months ago when you were sort of in the opposite mode. How has the industry changed or the reaction to your moves different than maybe your thought.