Here's what Wikipedia says :
"Sometime in the 40's or 50's, or possibly earlier, Western started selling rifles and shotguns in its catalogues. As with other chains at the time such as Sears, Montgomery Ward, and even JC Penny, Western Auto's firearms were sold under a proprietary brand. Often called "store brand" firearms, they were firearms produced by large-name manufacturers such as Mossberg, Remington, Savage, Winchester, and even High Standard. Sold under the "Revelation" brand name, Western Auto firearms, generally Savage, Marlin, or Mossberg models (which, other than markings, are identical to standard production models) were the most basic model produced by the various vendors with generally plain birch or sometimes walnut stocks. However, metal bluing remained good and nearly all models were provided with iron sights and could mount scopes. Once valued lower than "name brand" equivalents, store-brand rifles, shotguns, and even revolvers have essentially reached price parity with their more universal counterparts.
Firearms were one of many lines added to the store in a product diversification effort. By the end of the 50s Western Auto was very much like a Sears store, even equipped with Catalog Order Center. Auto Parts comprised only a small percentage of the company's sales by the mid-60's and had all but disappeared by the 70s.
In the early 1980s, in response to the success of Wal-Mart, Western Auto Retail converted all of the company-owned stores to what it called "FLAG" stores, which sold exclusively automotive parts and accessories. Western Auto Wholesale strongly urged its associate stores to become at least 50% automotive, but most refused because their locations in small town America was a different demographic than the large city "FLAG" store and demanded a wider range of merchandise. This rebellion by the associate stores would later save the company.
In 1987, Sears Roebuck purchased Western Auto, which resulted in greater tire selections, and in Craftsman tools and DieHard batteries being sold at Western Auto stores. Sears valued the freestanding Western Auto stores as outlets for Craftsman and DieHard. However, the heavy competition of discount auto parts stores such as Advance, Carport, Auto-Zone, and O'Reilly proved too much for the company's lack of focus. By the beginning of 1997, fewer than 850 company-owned stores remained. At that point, the associate stores were the bread and butter of the company, with their more diversified name-brand lines including appliances, electronics, hardware, bicycles, go-karts, and outdoor equipment/parts, and their reach into small-town America.
In 1998, parent company Sears sold the remnants of Western Auto to Advance Auto Parts of Roanoke, Virginia. A few of the associate stores converted to Sears Dealer stores. The remainder of the company-owned stores, located primarily in the eastern United States, were then converted into Advance stores. The remaining associate stores were promised a great and long future in the tradition of Western Auto, a promise that wasn't kept. Advance gave little support to the associate store operation and as a result most dealers found themselves purchasing 70%+ of their merchandise from other suppliers and simply using the Western Auto name.
In 2003, Advance terminated the Western Auto Wholesale(Associate Store) operation and notified the dealer/associate stores that they would need to find other supply sources. That was not a problem for many of the stores since most were purchasing merchandise from other sources already. The dealer stores were also informed that they could have limited use of the Western Auto name by 2004. Stores who decided not to operate within Advance's limitations would be in violation of trademark infringement. In the true independent spirit of the associates, there are still Western Auto stores in Alexandria, Louisiana; Marianna, Florida; Lincolnville, Maine; Stevensville, Maryland; Starkville, Mississippi; Forest, and Morristown Tennessee; Trinity, Texas; Henderson and Siler City, North Carolina; Grafton, Virginia[1]; and several other smaller cities and towns around the United States proudly displaying their store name as "Western Auto". Advance agreed to allow stores who acted within these limitations to continue to use the "Western Auto" name. Most of these stores acted within the limitations proposed by Advance, and Advance decided not to bring any legal action against stores not acting within thes imposed limitations, to this day. The Western Auto name is still used in Puerto Rico, where it is the largest such chain, even though the Western Auto name is being phased out store by store into Advance stores."
Interesting
