Moving With The Times

With each passing year another crop of cars once merely thought of as old suddenly begin to be viewed in a different light. The things they were previously despised for – their age, outmoded styling and passé technology – become the very qualities that make them desirable. And thus, with no apparent logic, yesterday’s tat becomes today’s classic.

This is great news for vintage tyre specialists such as North Hants Tyres and Wheels, and ensures that the vintage tyre sector, although a niche market, remains one that is healthy. The team at North Hants, a family run company with close to 60 years in the business, has enjoyed steady growth in recent years – so much so that the past decade has seen the need for first an enlargement of the company’s premises and then a move to a new and bigger building. With the 6,000 sq ft warehouse in Fleet, Hampshire no longer sufficient to house the company’s ever expanding range, North Hants moved in 2005 to a whopping 25,000 sq ft premises in neighbouring Aldershot.

“We currently hold in excess of 20,000 vintage and American tyres and over 3,000 wheels for the American market,” reports North Hants’ Paul Downing. “Our new warehouse is filling up as we and our suppliers add to our product range.” He adds that North Hants do not attempt to hold every single vintage tyre size in stock, but a monthly container delivery ensures the even the more obscure sizes are always available. “The world wide web has made the world smaller, and sometimes we get requests for tyres that we do not stock but can obtain.”

And the range of vintage, classic and American tyre manufacturers from which North Hants’ customers can choose from is impressive. At present the company handles the following brands: BF Goodrich Vintage range, BF Goodrich Radial T/A, Firestone Vintage, US Royal, Coker, Excelsior, Indian, Beck, Wheel Vintiques, Diamond Back Classics, Uniroyal (USA) and Pro Trac. This long list of distribution agreements has been built upon over a period of more than 25 years, during which time North Hants has established very good working relationships with its suppliers.

During the past year North Hants’ most notable product release has been the Firestone F560, a tyre that is proving to be popular with owners of recent classics such as older model Volkswagen Beetles and Citroen 2CVs through to less common classics such as the Volvo Amazon and Triumph Spitfire. “The moulds have moved to a manufacturing plant in Mexico, and over the next few months the range should be complete,” says Downing. “We currently have the 125×15, 145×15 and 165×15 with the 135×15, 145×14 and 165×14 due. There is also the likelihood of a 145×13 and a 13” range if demand is forthcoming, but with a flooded cheap import market on these sizes it may be a few years before these are produced.”

Also under development are race tyres from North Hants’ own Excelsior brand. The company are working on 700×21 and 550/600×19 sizes, both in a triple stud design typical of pre-war competition tyres. Mr. Downing adds that these two tyres are but the latest in what has been a busy twelve months for Excelsior. “Over the past year we have added a 640×15 tyre and a 550×15 tyre, and are working on a new 525/550×18 tyre…this product range is continually evolving as the four distribution partners – England, Germany, Australia and the USA add to suit their market.”

While tyres for pre-war vehicles are typically constructed to the same specifications – albeit using modern materials – as when first introduced, owners of more modern classics, who tend to drive their cars on a more regular basis, often demand more in the way of performance than their vehicle’s original-spec tyres can deliver. “As time marches on, customers with 50s and 60s cars no longer always want a crossply tyre, and for this reason there are now a multiple choice of wide whitewall radials from 155×13 through to 16” wide whitewalls,” says Downing. “The market is always adding.”

Predicting where the vintage tyre market is heading and ‘guesstimating’ what new tyre lines to add to North Hants’ growing range are, according to Mr. Downing, two issues to which the company must always devote their full attention. “Most of the time we can see where the trend will be, wide whitewall radials are becoming more popular and the whitewall crossply sales are slowing. But, with society’s “I want it now!” philosophy, if you can’t offer the tyre from the shelf sometimes the order is lost and the enquiry goes cold. Having the product ready for sale is the greatest challenge.”

There is rarely such thing as a typical customer, and as Mr. Downing notes, customers can sometimes seem like a breed unto themselves. “We have customers who have no clue about what they have brought or what they want, and others who want the perfect car and come with reams of paperwork.” In order to assist both customers with little product knowledge and those who have a fair idea of what they want, North Hants has added online ordering and product information to their website, www.northhantstyres.com. The information contained within the site’s virtual pages has proven to be a boon for customers, even when orders are placed by more traditional means. “Most [customers] refer to our website when ordering, or if they visit they have the printout with them of exactly what they would like,” says Downing. “It makes our life easier and gives the customer the opportunity to see exactly what they are buying.” Feedback has shown that customers appreciate the online availability of tyre specs, images and prices, and North Hants now employs their own in-house IT expert who is kept busy ensuring the site is completely up to date.

But while the aforementioned extremes of customer knowledge will have a familiar ring to all tyre wholesalers and dealers, Paul Downing believes there is one fundamental difference that makes the vintage tyre customer unique. “We are in a niche market where the product we are selling is for their pride and joy – not just a vehicle to get them to work and back,” he comments. “In the fast fit places they just want a reliable tyre and in many cases are price oriented. An American/classic tyre customer is totally different – they have a love for their vehicle which is being fitted and will ask more technical questions, and will also take time to think before placing their order.”

North Hants can supply most mainland UK customer requirements on a next day delivery basis. The company also offers a discount for trade distributors, and keep a wholesale price list for customers who want to stock and become involved in supplying this niche market.