TECH CHECK.

• Author: Martin, Cathy
• Position: STATEWIDE: Triangle

Advance Auto Parts is looking to the Triangle's tech talent to boost business as e-commerce syphons customers from traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, including those selling batteries, motor oil and car wax. The Fortune 500 company, which sells to do-it-yourselfers and independent repair shops and dealers, is moving its headquarters to Raleigh from Roanoke, the western Virginia town of about 100,000 where it was founded in 1932. Plans call for adding 435 jobs over the next five years with annual salaries averaging $106,000, about double Wake County's average.

The move wasn't surprising since Chief Executive Officer Tom Greco, a longtime PepsiCo executive who took the job in 2016, and other top executives were already based in the Capital City.

Like many businesses, Advance is getting pressured by Amazon, which in recent years has partnered with Sears, Pep Boys and others. Advance's revenue has declined slightly each year since 2014, the same year the company completed its $2 billion purchase of Raleigh-based General Parts International. It totaled $9.4 billion in 2017, and analysts project revenue of $9.6 billion in 2018, according to Yahoo...