Does anyone know any history about the fiero Store. my dad who was the Fiero lover, when they first came out, has odd catalogs from the fiero store (late 80s) and they have items like a v8 kit. I was just wondering is there really that many lovers of the fiero to keep them going for all these years?

I can tell you one thing....they've been in business since 1995 to my knowledge. They probably where in operation earlier but I've been "hot" on these cars since 1995; so that's what I know and all I know about them. Outstanding service if you ask me !!!

fierogt28

I first started buying stuff from them in 1992 or 1993.....I still have all the old catalogs too!

I do believe they do other things besides sell Fiero Parts.....they are not soley reliant on the sales of Fiero parts to pay the bills.

http://www.leaderind.com/

OOOHHHH NNNNNOOOOOO Honda's too. Maybe this is all a bad dream.

------------------
Ol' Paint, 88 Base coupe auto.
Turning white on top, like owner.
Leaks a little, like owner.
Doesn't smoke, unlike owner

It would be interesting to know the history of how they came to sell Fiero Parts. Is the owner an enthusiast? Or just a business filling a niche?

Are any of the employees enthusiasts? Do they surf this site for ideas? Has anyone attempting to interview the owner(s)? Either way it would be nice to know.

We have lots of questions, but no answers.
Contact:

Matthew Hartzog
President
The Fiero Store
800-343-7648
860-684-6762
matt@leaderind.com

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 05-24-2007).]

SWEET should I contact him or did you want to?

You go right ahead...it was your idea.

A google search has not turned up much on Matt except that he is a Vice President of Leader Industries.

he sounds like a cool guy, I'm surprised he hasn't posted on here.

Here's a quote from him,

"Fiero owners tend to be very dedicated and very loyal to those who support their vehicle," said Matthew Hartzog, president of The Fiero Store. "While the number of registered Fieros is dropping, those still on the road are often in need of major repairs or restoration."

With General Motors discontinuing or raising the prices of Fiero parts regularly, The Fiero Store has been forced to start manufacturing their own exclusive parts. "Our goal is to keep Fieros on the road," said Hartzog. "We do our very best to reproduce as many discontinued Fiero parts as possible." The Fiero Store is an officially licensed GM Restoration Parts manufacturer and supplies many GM dealerships that need Fiero parts.

The demand for Fiero parts stretches worldwide. The Fiero Store serves retail customers and other Fiero parts vendors in Canada, South America, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia and all across northern Europe. "The Fiero market is a tightly knit, global community," added Hartzog.
...
Matthew Hartzog President The Fiero Store
800-343-7648
860-684-6762

I was actually just there today, not what i expected

it was in an industrial park and it said leader industries in the front door, but you couldnt go in the front, you had to go in the side. it was obviously not meant for walk in customers but they still let me buy stuff there. my car was the only fiero in the parking lot. they had 3 pictures of random fieros on the wall right as I walked in. there were shelves everywhere with fiero parts and the office was in the middle of the place. the whole far side of the place was honda parts. i dunno if i met the owner or not, i doubt i did the guy i delt with was like 30 years old.

edit, it was kinda a small place too, maybe as much floor space as a decent sized 7/11 or something, nothing huge

[This message has been edited by Jrgicehc (edited 05-24-2007).]

I was going to visit it on one of my trips to Connecticut, then I was informed that it was just an unmarked warehouse...

Yellowstone did visit and took these pictures:










According to Yellowstone this is Matt: (the owner?)

Website history
http://web.archive.org/web/...//www.fierostore.com

I can understand it being an umarked place. Wouldn't want to advertise all that inventory to those of lower moral standards shall we say!!
Still, they provide a great service and many much needed parts to keep our favourite cars on the road and I can forgive them for doing Honda's as well.

------------------
Dave

www.ltlfrari.com

I was there back in 1999 (when I was living in Enfield, CT) and talked to Matt. Really nice guy. It took me a while to find the place.

------------------
1986 SE 350 V8

To me they are the best Fiero supplier/business by far. Great people since back in early 90s when I started ordering to now. I still remember once early 90s when I needed a Getrag (first diff bearing failure) and they spent so much time trying to find one and shiping it off shore. Here are some catalogs and inserts/newsletters from back then.

May 92 Catalog & some cool inserts




They used to send newsletters too;
October 92

[This message has been edited by Alex4mula (edited 05-25-2007).]

There was a feature on them in a recent issue of FieroPride (the newsletter MAFOA & NEFA collaborate on). Gwen Randolph (Phil's wife & NEFA Pres) put it together nicely. Maybe someone can scan it? I'm on my way into the hospital to visit my grandmother but if I get a chance I will later this weekend. Matt isn't very old...I'd say early 30's or younger....

~Jen

Other than the high prices, (sometimes justified) I couldn't live without the Fiero Store. Try finding spring pins for 88 brakes. You can't buy new ones anywhere except the Fiero Store as far as I know.

Matt probably doesn't post on here because of all the crap that people would give him like a lot of the crap that gets posted about a lot of vendors. But it would be nice to hear more about him and how he came to the idea of starting the Fiero Store.

The Fiero Store is the fastest shipping vendor I've ever dealt with. I've ordered stuff on Monday and had it arrive by Wednesday....absolutely incredible.

I'll gladly pay the higher prices for the level of service I've received from them over the years. Without the Fiero Store, the hobby would suffer greatly. To Matt and his staff a big thanks.

I second that. I've ordered mid-day on a Monday and received the items the next day via UPS. They also are great at taking care of problems when they arise. Bought the Grand Am upgrade from them and didn't install for several months. When I went to do the upgrade, the new brake pads I ordered at the same time were mismatched (half were for the wrong car - maybe a Honda ). I called them and they had a new set at my door the next day and didn't even make me return the original set.

Great service by any standard! And a 10% discount on non-GM parts to boot.

I'll pay a litte extra for good customer service and the Fiero Store has never disappointed me in that regard.

Here's an excellent example...Last summer, I was re-doing my brake pads and somehow lost the little round anti-rattle clips. The Fiero Store didn't have them listed in their catalogue but I called them to see if they knew where I could find some. The guy I spoke with said he had a few lying around and would send me a couple. I asked how much....he said "no charge."

I had them 36 hours later.

*This article was published in the December 06 Fiero Pride newsletter, a joint collaboration with the New England Fiero Association and Mid Atlantic Fiero Owners Association.

*Just so you know, N.I.F.E. also did an informative article on The Fiero Store in one of their excellent newsletters.

The Fiero Store---y
Submitted by: Phil & Gwen Randolph

What you know today as The Fiero Store started out as a small Opal car niche business in the garage of Richard (Smitty) Smith in Tolland, CT, in 1981. Working as Leader Industries, he maintained his interest in Opal cars until he purchased an 85 Fiero GT. Smitty had followed the Fiero and decided in 1991 to start The Fiero Store in that same garage. Leader Industries and The Fiero Store finally outgrew the garage and moved to its present location in Stafford Springs, CT. Matt Hartzog purchased the business in 2005 continuing the overall mission of The Fiero Store to keep Fieros on the road.

Phil & I had visited The Fiero Store a few years ago and while there to pick up a part were given the grand tour. Phil felt that other Fiero enthusiasts would be interested in seeing what The Fiero Store looks like too, so in August we asked and Matt agreed to sit down with us to answer questions that we had gathered from emails I had send out to both clubs.

Fiero Pride: How many full time employees do you have working for The Fiero Store?
Matt: Nine
Fiero Pride: How many own Fieros?
Matt: Several have in the past and I love the look of the Fiero, but presently no one owns a Fiero.
Fiero Pride: Please tell us more about Leader Industries
Matt: Leader Industries is an umbrella corporation. Besides The Fiero Store we have T.A.S. Auto Parts. We also have a company that creates and hosts Internet sites and designs catalogs for clients.
Fiero Pride: Do any of your employees visit Pennock's Fiero Forum?
Matt: We are well aware of, keep an eye on and advertise on PFF, but don't post.
Fiero Pride: Do you ever envision The Fiero Store getting into the business of doing engine swaps for people with no time?
Matt: No, we'll leave that up to the experts.
Fiero Pride: How does The Fiero Store determine what new products to produce?
Matt: We balance the demand for a particular product with the cost to produce that product. The Fiero market is small so we hope people will understand that it costs a premium to develop and produce products.
Fiero Pride: Where does The Fiero Store look to get products made?
Matt: The Fiero Store is a licensed GM Restoration Parts manufacturer. We have a good relationship with GM and they are still our largest supplier. The Fiero Store also has a very reliable contact that informs us when any vendor that produced Fiero parts is scraping any tooling.
Fiero Pride: How did you find the GT lens dies?
Matt: Our reliable contact is the reason we were able to acquire the GT lens dies. These dies were a major score for us.
Fiero Pride: Does The Fiero Store attend car shows?
Matt: We would love to attend car shows. Unfortunately it's tough because we get calls from all over the world and going to shows would mean missed calls and missed business. Actually, because most people don't know what I look like, I have attended some shows without anyone knowing I was there.
Fiero Pride: Tell us a little about The Fiero Store.
Matt: Most of our business is done via the Internet with customers all over the globe from as far away as Iran and Zimbabwe. We are really big in Northern Europe, but the U.S. and Canada generate most of our business. The Fiero Store is very concerned and wants to make sure that you have a secure site when making purchases on our website. Because of our concern and even though we have lots of security, we are working on a major ground up overhaul of our website, which should be finished by the end of the year. We hope that customers will be patient during this time as there could be a delay while placing credit card orders.
Fiero Pride: How big is The Fiero Store facility?
Matt: We presently occupy 5,500 sq. ft. We store our overstock in the trailers out back and rotate the stock in and out of these trailers. Our businesses are growing and we will need a larger facility in the future.
Fiero Pride: The Fiero Store can be difficult to find. It's as if you are hidden in plain site.
Matt: We try to keep a low profile. That's why we have no signage on the building.
Fiero Pride: Tell us a little about your R & D work.
Matt: I have to say that Bob Parker of Kick Hill Farm has been an immense help to The Fiero Store going back to when Smitty was the owner. Bob's input has been an integral part of The Fiero Store. Right here on site we have Justin who is our R & D and prototyping person.
Fiero Pride: Is there anything you would want to pass on to the Fiero community?
Matt: Yes, I feel strongly about keeping the Fiero market thriving. You don't have to buy from us at The Fiero Store, but please support Fiero vendors when making your Fiero purchases.
Fiero Pride: Can you let us in on any new products you have in development that you haven't announced to the general public?
Matt: These are on our wish list: We are in negotiations to make a stock looking Fiero console. We are also trying to get coolant tubes and cheaper V6 exhaust manifolds made.
Fiero Pride: The Fiero Store is noted for its prompt delivery. Can you tell us a little about your shipping procedures?
Matt: Our shipping department consists of one dedicated person and during peak times we will use 4 - 5 floaters. We use both the United States Postal Service and UPS. The Postal Service picks up orders at 4:00 p.m. Call in your order by 3:00 p.m. and your order will get shipped out the same day with the 4:00 p.m. shipments. UPS picks up at 5:00 p.m. Call in your order by 4:00 p.m. and your order will leave that day with the 5:00 p.m. shipments. Just remember though that even though The Fiero Store prides itself on prompt shipments, this can only be accomplished if the item ordered is in stock.
Fiero Pride: Do you have any stories that you'd like to share with us?
Matt: The answer to one question in particular that is asked of us is - Yes, The Fiero Store does make a living selling Fiero parts.
Fiero Pride: How many requests for donations does The Fiero Store receive on an average year?
Matt: We get requests for donations from approximately 25 shows a year.

We asked and Matt very nicely gave Phil and I a tour of the facility so that we could take a few photos to show everyone just exactly what The Fiero Store looks like inside and out. Club members had asked specifically for photos of people they talk to on the phone so they could place a face with the voice.

Phil & I want to thank Matt and The Fiero Store staff for letting us interrupt their day. It was enjoyable and most informative.

quote Originally posted by Phil: *This article was published in the December 06 Fiero Pride newsletter, a joint collaboration with the New England Fiero Association and Mid Atlantic Fiero Owners Association. .

Thanks for posting that...

As usual the truth is somewhere inbetween the extremes, Matt is a bit of an enthusiast, and a business man as well.

His point is well taken, that if you have to choose between autozone, pep boys, O'Reilly's etc and a Fiero vendor, you should buy from a Fiero vendor, even if it's a bit more expensive. These vendors are the only people to supply those hard to get items, and if we don't support them, they may go away.