Kumho Opens First Vietnam ‘Tire Pro’ Centre

On March 12, Kumho Tires announced the planned launch of its specialist ‘Tire Pro’ retail store in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, a country the South Korean manufacturer identifies as one that is “emerging as a promising market.” The Vietnam launch of Tire Pro follows the opening of branches in Korea and China.

Kumho has already opened tyre manufacturing and rubber processing plants in Vietnam, and the company says it now plans to launch Tire Pro branches in Vietnam and accelerate its efforts to penetrate the Southeast Asian market, in order to strengthen and expand its distribution channels in local markets.

The opening ceremony for the first Vietnamese Tire Pro centre was held on March 11 and attended by some 100 guests, including Kumho executives and employees, high-ranking Vietnamese government officials and media representatives. Young-Nam Byeon, senior executive director of GEM Sales Headquarters at Kumho Tires, stated, “With the launch of our first Tire Pro branch in Vietnam, which is emerging as a new centre in the Asian region, we aim to increase our franchises in Southeast Asia, enhance our brand recognition as a global company, and continue to increase sales.”

The first branch in Vietnam is located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, and applies the recently introduced Kumho Tires brand global brand identity. The Ho Chi Minh City branch, says Kumho, is expected to serve as a gateway to the ASEAN market, helping the company to entrench its position as a global tire retail brand. The Tire Pro branch will provide premium consumer-oriented tyre services, based on strictly standardised processes.

Kumho has established around 130 Tire Pro branches since it launched the retail operation in 2001. The company intends to launch Tire Pro branches in North America, in addition to its existing branches in China, Vietnam and other Asian markets.