Fieldens sales manager Andy Hipkin dies at 44
Andy Hipkin, Fieldens’ tyre and wheel sales manager passed away on 29 September 2014 aged 44. He had been battling cancer for three years. Hipkin joined Fieldens in 1993 as a tyre fitter and lorry driver then progressed through numerous roles including working with Renault Agriculture, Fieldens Wheels and Tyres sales department and eventually becoming […]
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Brityrex pre-registrations open, show starts on Tuesday
Brityrex, the only dedicated tyre exhibition in the UK, opens in Tuesday 7 October. All bona fide members of the trade are welcome to attend the exhibition which runs 7 - 9 October at EventCity. As well as exhibits relating to tyres, wheels, TPMS, garage equipment, software and amore the show is also hosting TyreTalk Seminars. A full schedule is available here.
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Bridgestone, Brake survey shows 1/3 parents witness near misses near schools
A new survey from Bridgestone and road safety charity, Brake shows that over a third of primary school parents (35 per cent) have witnessed near misses outside the school gates. More than half (55 per cent) of survey respondents said they worried about their child’s safety near roads on the school run.
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Cooper challenges Arsenal players to footballing accuracy test
Cooper Tire Europe has produced a new video with the help of its partner, Arsenal Football Club. Midfielders, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil, and forward, Lukas Podolski were asked to show their accuracy skills on a bespoke structure topped with four of Cooper’s Zeon CS Sport performance tyres. A secondary test involved aiming through a single tyre, hung from the top right of the goal mouth. The video is available to view below.
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Wide variation in prices achieved by different brands and platforms online
Online tyre retailing continues to grow in volume and influence – something that has been expected for a long time. However, the proliferation of differing online strategies is something that is proving to be less predictable. Gone are the days when online tyre retailing was simply a price competition, or in other words a race to the bottom. That strategy has resulted in the demise of many here-today-gone-tomorrow startups and has instead led to the development of a considerably more nuanced market place. Still, the online tyre space remains fiercely competitive with the likes of Blackcircles and Tyregiant each signing deals with supermarkets Tesco and Asda respectively; and with National Tyres backing the AA’s tyre offer, as another example, In other words, this market is now about far more than who can offer budget tyres for the lowest price.
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NTDA auctioning Ryan Giggs-autographed shirt for BEN
During Brityrex International 2014, (EventCity Manchester 7 - 9 October), the NTDA will be auctioning a signed Ryan Giggs no.11 Manchester United shirt, which commemorates his 588 appearances, 108 goals and 24 years of service with Manchester United. It also lists all of his accolades as a player during that period including his PFA Player of the Year in 2009. The shirt will be on display on the NTDA stand during Brityrex and delegates will be able to make silent bids for the shirt between 7 - 8 of October.
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John McNaught leaving Bridgestone
After 12 years at Bridgestone, John McNaught is to leave the company on 31 October 2014. McNaught, who has 36 years of tyre industry experience, led many of the initiatives that resulted in Bridgestone’s recent growth in this part of Europe during his tenure including significant growth in the company’s truck and bus fleet business and the acquisitions of the Kingsway retail business in 2004 and the Bulldog retreading operation in 2005 (See “Strong growth at Bridgestone UK” in our September 2005 issue for more); not to mention the expansion of the UK office’s oversight into a regional or “zone” headquarters including the Nordic markets (See “Why Bridgestone believes its new European structure takes it closer to the market”, September 2011), to name two examples.
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ABD says ‘no’ to road pricing
In the midst of party conference season, members of drivers lobby group The Alliance of British Drivers have reaffirmed their hostility to Pay per mile road pricing following its re-appearance on the political radar. In a recent survey of its members 85 per cent said they were opposed to road pricing under any circumstances.
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