Yokohama buys Polish tyre distributor from Itochu

On 6 May 2021 Yokohama Europe GmbH, signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Poland’s ITR CEE Spółka z.o.o., a wholesale distributor engaged in the import and sale of Yokohama tyres in central and eastern Europe. The acquisition is scheduled to be concluded on 14 May 2021, after which the Polish company’s name will be changed to Yokohama CEE Spółka z.o.o.

The company’s previous owner was the Itochu Group, which controlled ITR CEE through its UK-based European Tyre Enterprises Ltd (ETEL) business and specifically via Kwik Fit Netherlands. ETEL executives Yutaka Kimbara and Mark Lynott were on the board of ITR CEE prior to the sale to Yokohama. No details of how much Yokohama paid for ITR CEE Spółka z.o.o have been released.

ITR CEE Spółka z.o.o. was established in 2015 and so is a relatively new entity. In the financial year ended March 2020, the company achieved annual sales of 54 million Polish zloty (£10.272 million; 11.928 million euros; US$14.442 million). According to EMIS, the company’s 2020 net revenue increased 16.31 per cent; and its’ total assets 45.36 per cent; and its net profit margin by 1.76 per cent. ITR CEE Spółka z.o.o.’s 16 employees are based at the company’s head office is in Warsaw.

Yokohama says adding the Polish tyre wholesale business to its corporate Yokohama tyre sales network in Europe will “facilitate further expansion of Yokohama’s market share and strengthen the Group’s business foundation in the growing market of central and eastern Europe.”

According to the Japanese tyre manufacturer, the acquisition forms part of Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), a new three-year management plan launched in February 2021. Under this plan, the consumer tyre business aims “to maximize the sales ratio of its core high-value-added tyres, comprising the global flagship Advan brand, the Geolandar brand of tyres for SUVs and pickup trucks, and various winter tyres. Toward that goal, the business is expanding the size ranges of such tyres and implementing “product and regional business strategies that will increase sales of tyres that respond to specific trends in each regional market”. In other words, the company has not ruled out further acquisitions.