Stapletons shifts alliance to Fit4Fleet as AA eschews the independents

STS Stapletons Tyres and Exhausts has joined Fit4Fleet, giving the company access to a national account facility. This is a boost to Fit4Fleet and perhaps gives an insight into the relationship between AA Tyrefit and Stapletons, founders of Tyreserve, which later became AA Tyrefit.The move puts Stapletons back in the running in terms of serving the fleet customers and also serves to boost Fit4Fleet, bringing their membership to 850 operational centres and some 350 mobiles.

Fit4Fleet’s Dominic Bateson told T&A, “We are delighted to have Stapletons on board. The company has excellent coverage backed by excellent brand availability through its wholesale operation. Stapleton’s is also very experienced in fleet work and understands the demanding nature of the clients and has suitably strong operational controls.

These are characteristics that are very important when dealing with the fleet customers.”This move is explained by strategic developments at AA Tyrefit, formerly the Stapletons’ originated Tyreserve.Says David Goodyear of AA Tyrefit, “The traditional fast-fit centre is a thing of the past and tyre networks that maintain them simply do not have the right structure to survive in the future.

We aim to offer the flexibility, pricing and service that the tyre customer rightly expects.”Goodyear cites research by AA Tyrefit that suggests just four per cent of customers using a mobile service would return to a fast fit outlet.”The service advantage is so strong,” argues Goodyear, “that the biggest hurdle we face is the fact that people expect there to be a premium for mobile fitting.

There isn’t. Our mobile fitting is free.”Such is the confidence in building the mobile service that AA Tyrefit has eschewed the independent networks completely.

David Goodyear explains, “We can provide the entire service capacity we need from within our mobile resources. The need for the independent network has passed, although we are still maintaining relationships with those outlets that offer mobile tyre fitting to provide back-up to our own units.”In further moves to hit its target of becoming the largest tyre distributor in the UK by 2007 (David Goodyear, T&A April 2003 p 37) the company has further developed its mobile fleet, which has now reached a total of 70 mobiles with a further 200 to be commissioned by the year-end, rising to 500 units by 2005.