Bridgestone Opens Shanghai Retail Store

Reports in the Shanghai Daily say that Bridgestone has opened a 1.6 million Yuan (US$ 198,270) “Car Wing” store in Shanghai. The store covers 789 square metres and is Bridgestone’s largest in China. It is also the first built by the tyre manufacturer, as its other stores were built by dealers.

A Bridgestone official is quoted as saying that further stores could be built in other cities, depending on demand. The new outlet will sell tyres (around 700 a month is the estimate), auto parts and accessories such as sound systems, with a branded line of wheels due to introduced in the near future. Monthly turnover is expected to be around one million Yuan (US$ 124,000).

The Shanghai Daily says that Bridgestone operated from 4,850 sales outlets last year and this is due to rise to 5,600 by 2010. The paper also says that Goodyear plans to be running 300 branded retail stores, while Michelin will have 210 of its TirePlus stores in the near future.