Conti planning significant retail growth in China

During the course of 2012, Continental expanded its retail network in China by some two-thirds, and this year it looks to grow by a further 40 per cent. Beijing-based publication China Daily reports Jay Dhillon, general manager of Continental Tires China, as calling 2012 the company’s “most successful year” in terms of its retail operation. He shared that 1,000 new authorised franchised shops were added to Continental’s network, giving it a total of 2,500.

“We will open another 1,000 authorised stores in 2013, three a day. As well as deepen our footprint into more second and third-tier cities, and maintain that speed over the next three years,” he told China Daily. “In 2012, Continental entered the second phase of our development in China, after establishing a stable foothold here. But we need to go much faster. We spent 80 per cent of our marketing budget on opening shops and doubling our sales team in 2012.”

In addition to its franchised outlets, Continental operates its flagship BestDrive centres. The first of these opened in Guangzhou in August 2010, and by February 2013 the company had established 12 outlets. BestDrive offers more comprehensive service than other outlets and centres are designed according to international standards. Dhillon told China Daily that this year Continental will double the number of BestDrive centres it operates and then open ten to 15 new outlets a year for the next three to five years. “Establishing BestDrive stores is a key initiative to propel our rapid growth in China, as well as a major step in building our presence in the local retail market, especially in the service sector,” he said.