Micheldever Develops Two-Wheel Efforts

The Micheldever name is well known across the tyre trade. As one of the leading UK wholesalers, Micheldever reports a turnover of £230 million, generated by selling a total of 7 million tyres each year. However, the fact that 70,000 of these are two-wheel products is something could easily be overlooked amongst all the masses of passenger (PCR) and 4×4 tyres that pass through the company each year. To those in the PCR tyre trade, this kind of volume may sound relatively small for a leading wholesaler, however in terms of the national two-wheel tyre market, this 70,000 tyres equates to just under 10 per cent share of the market. What’s more, the business has been operating at this level for the last three to four years, and as a motorbike tyre wholesaler for a decade.

But what does Micheldever’s general size mean to potential customers looking to buy motorcycle tyres as part of their business? “Customer is king…you don’t generate this kind of sales without good service,” said Paul Furlong Micheldever’s new motorcycle brand manager, explaining that the company carries all stock for all motorcycle fitments relating to all the bike manufacturers.

The latest development is that Micheldever is offering customers free same day delivery in most urban areas. According to Paul Furlong, this is the best way for dealers to avoid the hassle of having to carry an every increasing fitment list in stock. Even those not in urban areas get free delivery on unlimited quantities. “Order on Saturday and the delivery arrives on Monday,” Furlong adds, explaining that courier-based services generally take a day longer in this situation. Micheldever also boasts a specific motorbike tyre sales team, who exclusively handle two-wheel tyre sales. “We have bikers in the company from fitter to director level,” observes Furlong.

Micheldever’s maiden appearance at the Motorcylcle Trade Expo this January speaks volumes about the company’s outlook for this year. Its aim, and of course the hope, is that 2008 will be the year that the motorbike tyre part of the business drives forward.

It is fair to say that Micheldever’s expanded efforts in the motorbike sector have sent reverberations around what is a relatively small segment. Despite this, Paul Furlong is confident that the company’s service and competitiveness make Micheldever stand out from the crowd.

For example, Micheldever’s Motorbike tyre accounts have access to stock through Micheldever’s ESP internet warehouse system. One of the unique selling points of this particular system is its VRN (vehicle registration number) look-up function. By using this customers can quickly get bike (or for that matter car) fitment data from just typing in the vehicle registration number. According to Paul Furlong, this is particularly useful when dealing with telephone sales calls. One scenario Furlong describes is of a wife phoning to buy a set of tyres for her husband, while she can relatively easily tell you the manufacturer of the machine, getting the year, model number or tyre sizes necessary can often prove to be more of a problem. Asking her to read out the VRN is a lot more straightforward.

Furthermore, to Furlong the fact that Micheldever retails “a few” motorcycle tyres just means the company has experience of what customers need. As a result Micheldever offers stock profile support, hands-on training and the equipment insight needed.

Paul Furlong joined Micheldever in May 2007 with the specific remit of looking at ways to change the business positively. Furlong’s position at Micheldever is not the first outing in the motorcycle segment. Prior to taking on his current role, he worked for a leading motorcycle tyre wholesale.