Kings Road Tyres restructuring wholesale business

Kings Road Tyres (KRT), one of the longest-established UK tyre wholesalers, is restructuring its distribution network and has committed to a multi-million pound investment and modernisation programme to achieve this.

However, this also means the eight existing KRT warehouses in the UK and Ireland will be progressively closed to coincide with the opening of new premises. This is expected to take place between the end of March and the end of August 2016.

Therefore the company has confirmed the closures will result in the loss of a number of jobs. Where redeployment of staff is not practical, all affected employees will receive personal assistance in preparing for and seeking alternative employment. Despite the significant changes, company representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the senior management are all remaining and all supplier relationships remain good.

In the majority of cases, KRT will continue to service customers with its own delivery fleet, maintaining control of the entire distribution process.

According to the company, the decision was made after the outcome of a detailed structural review highlighted the opportunity for KRT to modernise its entire business by taking advantage of the latest warehousing, logistics, sales, systems and IT technologies. As a result, the company is investing in a new, modern and streamlined network of logistics centres, with “far greater operational efficiencies”.

The new structure includes a major warehouse hub in the midlands and three distribution centres in the south east, south west and north. These will be supported by two smaller satellite centres. The planned opening schedule for the new logistics network will see the Midlands Hub, Carlisle and Scotland satellites, North and South East centres operational by the end of June. The programme will be completed with the opening of the South West centre by the end of September.

KRT is also putting substantial financial investment into supporting the continued growth and success of the Group’s service businesses, TyreWork and TBS (Tyre Business Solutions).

“Tyre wholesaling is a dynamic business environment that continues to evolve ever-more rapidly. KRT is committed to remaining a major player in the market, as we have been for over 40 years. Against that background, we have decided to radically upgrade our entire distribution network to take advantage of the benefits available with the most modern buildings, logistics, infrastructure and systems,” explained Adrian Bader, KRT Group managing director, adding:

“This is a pivotal decision that will allow KRT to continue its long term business relationships with leading tyre manufacturers and deliver outstanding service to retailers and stockists across the UK….We have a clear focus on becoming the first choice tyre supplier in specialist market sectors such as truck and bus, agricultural, OTR and industrial. We already have an outstanding portfolio of tyre brands and this investment will deliver an outstanding infrastructure to help achieve our ambitions”.