GB Tyres seeking growth opportunities in segment diversification, geographical expansion

Already well established as a leading Truck and Commercial wholesale tyre supplier, recent diversification from GB Tyres has seen it increase its presence in the car wholesale market. It is now looking forward to expanding its off-road agricultural, plant, construction and earthmover offerings, the wholesaler tells Tyres & Accessories. While the expansion of its sales into passenger car tyres has required approaching new customers and a slightly different customer base, many agricultural customers are already using GB Tyres for their truck tyre supply. GB Tyres says the extension is therefore a case of “enhancing its offer to the same customers.” It adds that the advantage of offering tyres in an expanding range of segments to an existing large customer base means it can offer a mix of car, truck and any other tyres all on the same delivery, which helps the company distinguish itself from some competitors.

Brand partnerships and exclusive offerings have been a key element to GB Tyres’ growth over the past few years. Both the JK and Challenger brands from Indian manufacturer JK Tyre have increased in visibility in the UK market, having signed up with GB Tyres. In addition, the wholesaler has built a ”strong relationship” with leading Chinese manufacturer Linglong. Alongside its manufacturing facilities in China, Thailand, and USA, the new Serbia plant will help to improve further the supply of its products to distribution partners like GB Tyres.

The wholesaler is employing a similar strategy in its developing agriculture and OTR segments. It is signing exclusive arrangements with brands from “major manufacturers with a global presence providing quality products at the right price.” GB tyres states. For plant and construction, GB Tyres will offer the JK range to complement the existing truck offer. In earthmover, the Samson brand, again already being supplied in truck, offers a comprehensive range of OTR tyres. GB Tyres says another exclusive agricultural tyre brand “will come from one of the largest tyre manufacturers in the world.”

In 2022, GB Tyres opened its new 120,000 sq ft warehouse in Oldbury, West Midlands (see Tyrepress for our coverage), increasing its warehousing to four sites, improving stock holding and order efficiency. As well as the new warehouse GB Tyres has increased its fleet of vans, resulting in a better service for customers based within a 30-mile radius of the Oldbury site. Future plans include further new UK warehousing as well as seeking growth in the European markets. Its expansion will be led by new personnel appointments tasked with developing its European sales and customer base, initially supplied from their UK warehouses.

Graham Hutchison, GB Tyres commercial director, says: “We know holding stock is an expense for our customers so we try to ensure we have enough stock to meet their demands and they can order as and when they need to. Remaining open and maintaining our stock levels was also crucial during the pandemic, not only to make sure our customers could receive the stock but in turn they could continue to supply their customers, many of which were essential workers.”

GB Tyres is also proud to sponsor the NTDA conference. The company was shortlisted in the NTDA’s Tyre Industry Awards for Truck & Agriculture Tyre Supplier of the Year, an award it won, and Tyre Wholesaler of the Year.