Nokian shifts tyre retail model focus

The Finnish tyre manufacturer wants to increase brand recognition in the Central European and North American markets by focusing on its Nokian Authorised Dealers distribution network

Nokian Tyres has shifted away from its Vianor retail franchise concept in Germany. The Finnish tyre manufacturer said that it is “continuing the close cooperation with our former Vianor dealers in a new, but similarly intensive way under our Nokian Authorised Dealers (NAD) marketing concept.” The move comes shortly after Nokian sold its US Vianor Tire Centers business to Point S, and signifies a move away from the Vianor branding outside the brand’s domestic-plus Nordic region, where Vianor is established with 186 Vianor Equity locations. Anna Hyvönen, SVP, Nordics & Vianor, told Tyres & Accessories that the company is enacting its plans to “optimise” its Central European and North American distribution network via NAD, “focusing on the quality of the partners and providing excellent support and benefits.”

T&A asked Hyvönen why Nokian withdrew Vianor from the German and US markets. She said: “In Central Europe we focus on NADs, which are an efficient way to expand our distribution and build brand recognition in areas where we want to grow. Building two brands (Nokian Tyres and Vianor) simultaneously in a market where we need to grow Nokian Tyres brand awareness is not efficient.” She added that this was part of Nokian’s restructuring, “which was completed” in 2019.

In the US, the deal to sell its equity Vianor network “follows our global Vianor strategy,” Hyvönen continued, “which means focus on equity owned dealerships in Nordics. Across the Americas, Nokian Tyres continues to focus on doubling our sales, working closely with our current and growing retail base. We are already selling our products via thousands of selected partners in the US.”

She added that this strategy is not new, and has in fact been “the same for years.” The Vianor equity model “is strongest in the Nordic countries where the service network consists of both our own Vianor service centers and Vianor partners. In other parts of the world, Vianor partners, NADs and other tire distributors form our distribution network. Even though our own Vianors give us better control of the product offering and pricing in our home market, our focus with all the distributors is the same, to improve sell-out of Nokian Tyres’ products.

“Following years of rapid growth, Vianor is now focusing on developing quality. The aim is to ensure future success by optimizing the network and improving the customer experience.”

Conversion plans?

T&A asked Hyvönen whether Nokian plans to convert the Nokian-owned Vianor outlets into partner-owned outlets. She replied that Nokian’s own Vianor “service centers in Finland, Sweden and Norway” have a “significant” role in Nokian’s distribution. Its “optimisation” of the network in Central Europe and North America does not imply that other markets will see the Vianor network exit, Hyvönen clarifies. “The Vianor partners are an important part of our distribution network.” She concluded that Nokian would not extend its N-Tyre network outside Russia since the “N-Tyre concept is tailored for the Russian market.”

T&A asked Bahri Kurter, SVP, Central Europe whether there would be any knock-on effects of Vianor’s exit for the company’s NAD dealer partners in Germany, such as an expansion. He said that “building and strengthening NAD’s in Central Europe and Germany is one of our efforts to support reaching our growth objectives. NADs will continue to play an important role for our distribution in the region.”

Nokian is targeting higher sales figures in Central Europe via its product portfolio, Kurter added. Nokian’s “strong winter heritage” necessitates high-performing and competitive summer tyres too. Meanwhile, Nokian’s Seasonproof and Seasonproof SUV all-season tyres have been launched in September 2020 in order to supply the continent’s fastest growing segment. “Overall, there are big opportunities and we are happy that our business is going positively in the region despite the current market challenges.”