MERCHANDISE INVENTORIES

3 Months Ended

Apr. 28, 2012

MERCHANDISE INVENTORIES

MERCHANDISE INVENTORIES

NOTE 3—MERCHANDISE INVENTORIES

Merchandise inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined by using the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) method. An actual valuation of inventory under the LIFO method can be made only at the end of each fiscal year based on inventory and costs at that time. Accordingly, interim LIFO calculations must be based on management’s estimates of expected fiscal year-end inventory levels and costs. If the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method of costing inventory had been used by the Company, inventory would have been $554.1 million and $536.4 million as of April 28, 2012 and January 28, 2012, respectively.

The Company’s inventory, consisting primarily of automotive parts and accessories, is used on vehicles. Because of the relatively long lives of vehicles, along with historical experiences of returning most excess inventory to vendors for full credit, the risk of obsolescence is minimal. The Company establishes a reserve for excess inventory for instances where less than full credit will be received for such returns or where the Company anticipates items will be sold at retail prices that are less than recorded costs. The reserve is based on management’s judgment, including estimates and assumptions regarding marketability of products, the market value of inventory to be sold in future periods and on historical experiences where the Company received less than full credit from vendors for product returns. The Company also provides for estimated inventory shrinkage based upon historical levels and the results of its cycle counting program. The Company’s inventory adjustments for these matters were approximately $4.4 million and $4.6 million at April 28, 2012 and January 28, 2012, respectively.