Apollo to distribute Cooper range in India

One result of Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber is that the US brand will be distributed in India, to both original equipment market customers and the replacement market. News regarding this was initially published by The Hindu Business Line on 19 June; the Indian financial daily wrote that the first Cooper products to arrive in Apollo’s home market would be SUV tyres, which will be supplied to “various OEMs”.

Cooper Tire has traditionally operated in the replacement tyre sector, with its supply to OEM customers limited. When asked by Tyres & Accessories whether this may now change, an Apollo Tyres spokesman agreed that Cooper “does not have a strong history as an OEM supplier” but noted that while it is still too early to comment in detail on product strategy, the company anticipates new sales opportunities for both the Cooper and Apollo brands.

“We see multiple complementary areas where we can use our distribution network and OEM relationships in India to cross sell products from the Cooper stable, either to the OEM or in the replacement space,” the spokesman told Tyres & Accessories in an e-mail. “And this will not be restricted to India alone. We will use the same business model in other parts of the globe. For instance, Apollo can introduce its branded truck tyres into China and North America through Cooper’s existing distribution network, an area where Cooper Tire is not strong.”