Goodyear Dunlop Regaining Lost UK Truck Tyre Market Share
2009 was a difficult year for the whole tyre business, but those selling commercial vehicle tyres had a particularly rough ride. With operators running fewer vehicles less often, and with the credit crunch biting at the heels of haulage companies already under pressure from sky-high fuel prices, there was considerable price pressure on premium tyre companies. As a result, last year saw the total UK truck tyre market shrink and some key changes take place in terms of market share. One key decline in unit share saw Goodyear Dunlop slip from 20 per cent in 2007 (third place) to estimated 9 per cent in 2009 (fifth place). With this in mind and in the context of the appointment of a new managing director at Tyre Fort, Tyres & Accessories visited Goodyear Dunlop’s UK headquarters for an exclusive interview with Nigel Sowerby, director commercial vehicle and off-the-road tyres.
Continue ReadingVacu-Lug Deflates Yokohama Truck Tyre Prices
While the majority of tyre manufacturers are increasing prices, Vacu-Lug Tyres Ltd has announced that it is actually reducing the cost of the Yokohama truck tyres it exclusively distributes in Great Britain. Vacu-Lug managing director Tim Hercock commented: “We have been doing a lot of work recently to improve efficiencies in our sales and logistics channels and as a result have been able to reduce our distribution costs which we have decided to pass on to our customers,” in a statement explaining that the price decrease covers the majority of the Yokohama truck tyre range, he added: “we are constantly being notified by our other tyre suppliers that their prices are going up and we thought that we would try and buck the trend by making the product range more competitive”.
Continue ReadingInfinity Aims to ‘Go Deep’ with Fast Growing ‘Premium Budget’ Strategy
When Al-Dobowi Group executives Surrender Singh Kandhari and his son Harjeev Singh Kandhari founded Infinity tyres six years ago, they probably didn't envisage how quickly their ambitious plans would come to fruition. What began with a series of informal meetings with key employees and potential suppliers in 2004 has since grown into an international exclusive/private brand operation present in 60 countries around the world. The kernel of a concept the Kandharis planted back then has developed through key partnerships with Chinese supplying manufacturer Shandong Linglong Co., Ltd. (see following article for more on this company's latest developments including its plans to construct a $200 million proving ground) and key distribution partners in Europe and Africa. With the recent addition of a Canadian distribution arm last year and with fledgling partnerships in both the Russian and Ukrainian markets, the company's global ambitions are clear.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop EMEA Announces Management Reshuffle
Following the news that former Goodyear Dunlop UK & MD Mark Brickhill has been promoted to the position of vice president of the company’s consumer business unit in Europe, Goodyear Dunlop EMEA has released further details of the recent changes in the businesses European management. In order to “capitalize on building a more efficient organization” the company has established a new leadership position oversee Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations (GDTO) and the Luxembourg complex. Philippe Degeer, who was previously vice president of the consumer business unit has been appointed to the position of VP Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations. In this position, Degeer will continue to report to Arthur De Bok, who remains president EMEA.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Dunlop Names George Rietbergen As New UK MD
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has appointed George Rietbergen as managing director UK and Ireland. Rietbergen will move to Birmingham to take over from Mark Brickhill, who has been promoted to vice-president of the company’s Consumer Business Unit EU. The appointment means Rietbergen is Goodyear Dunlop UK and Ireland’s third managing director since 2004.
Continue ReadingE-Tailers and Autocentres are on the Up
What will the tyre retail business look like in five years time? Who knows. As I have learnt to my peril in this column, prognostication is a dangerous business. Let’s not recall how last year I wrote “unless there is an unlikely stay of execution” regarding the implementation of s-marking regulations (see T&A’s August 2009 issue for more on this). But I digress. The news at the end of February that Halfords bought Nationwide Autocentres for £73.2 million (see page 14 for complete coverage) says something about how tyre retail is evolving. Along with the purchase announcement came plans to rebrand the chain and the affirmation of existing plans to double the number of branches to 424. When you consider that the second largest tyre retail chain in the country, ATS Euromaster, reported that it was “reviewing” up to 80 of its 456 branches last September, it is clear that size gap between chains at the top of the two sectors is narrowing. True, Autocentres don’t focus on tyre sales like the traditional outlets do, but there are signs they are considering how to increase their focus in this area.
Continue ReadingWhat Does Future Hold for Truck Tyre Retreading?
2009 may have been a difficult year for the tyre business in general, but the new truck tyre sector faired particularly badly. And as a knock-on effect of the reduced number of miles driven by fleets in the slowing economy, retread product was also hit (for example some figures suggest UK retread output was down 20 per cent this time last year). However, this improved during the course of the year and with retreading companies securing an increasing share of fleet business, Devon-based Bandvulc tyres is looking forward to a bright future in the international logistics business. In a period of expansion that has impressed even the truck and bus market’s leading new tyre manufacturers, in recent years Bandvulc has grown to an influential position in certain segments, particularly to supermarket fleet tyre supply. Along the way the company has developed a reputation for environmental consciousness and recently took on an expanded new tyre distribution role in order to extend the service it can offer its growing fleet customer base. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories, company director and co-founder Richard O’Connell defines three important dimensions for those in the retreading business to consider: environmental, technical and political.
Continue ReadingBlackcircles.com Advertises on Tesco Forecourts
In January this year, online tyre retailer continued its strategy of merging traditional and online marketing methods by delivering promotional material to 20 Tesco Petrol Stations around the UK. According to the e-tailer’s website, the company’ s communications and promotion manager covered over 1000 miles in five days, visiting selected Tesco stores. His objective was to introduce the company to Tesco Staff, while delivering A5 fliers, putting up posters and checking air pump advertising fascias which had been put up the previous week.
Continue ReadingHalfords Aims to Add 200 Nationwide Branches, Double EBIT
With 224 branches already and another 200 on the way following Halfords’ acquisition of the business, Nationwide Autocentres is on the brink of truly becoming a nationwide operation. And while the company’s core business is MOT and servicing rather than just tyres, the scale of the new business alone is likely to have some degree of impact on national tyre sales. Nationwide currently reports that it serves 500,000 customers each year. These are a mixture of fleet (25 per cent of revenues) and private (75 per cent). The company’s strategy is to differentiate itself within its market by being the only national operator to provide dealership quality service at lower prices. And this customer proposition is supported by a strong website. With companies like Kwik-Fit increasingly offering a wider range of services and companies like Nationwide increasing their interest in tyres, the gap between the traditional tyre specialist and autocentre is narrowing.
Continue ReadingNationwide Autocentre Purchase Brings Halfords Full Circle
The latest developments in Halford’s complex car servicing history (see Halfords Buys Nationwide Autocentres for £73.2 million – 18/02/10), bring with them a distinct sense of déjà-vous and highlight the cyclic nature of ownership in this industry. From Halfords point of view the latest venture represents a new beginning for a business that is radically different to when it last tried car servicing.
Continue ReadingHalfords Buys Nationwide Autocentres for £73.2 million
Halfords Group has bought Nationwide Autocentres in a £73.2 million deal, which managers described as the next “logical step” in its expansion plans. Nationwide, which has been owned by private equity group Phoenix since 2006, employs 900 mechanics and serves roughly 500,000 customers a year. Nationwide offers customers and fleets MOTs, servicing and repairs, but also recently increased the emphasis on tyres at its 224 outlets.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit to Sell Insurance Business for £200 million
Ian Fraser, CEO of tyre retail giant Kwik-Fit is preparing to sell its insurance wing for in excess of £200 million. According to a report published in the Sunday Times on 14 February, Kwik-Fit has hired bankers at Credit Suisse to carry out a review of Kwik-Fit Financial Services. The report points out that a sale of the operation would help Kwik-Fit cut its debts of around £822 million.
Continue ReadingKwik-Fit Establishes Russian Tyre Retail Franchise Partnership
On 10 February Kwik-Fit Group announced that is has entered into a Frachise agreement with the ROLF Group, one of Russia’s leading automotive businesses. According to the company, the Russian centres will be established under a new brand – ‘White Service’ - for which Kwik-Fit has established a dedicated support team. As well as providing on the support “on the ground” in Russia, Kwik-Fit is inviting White Service managers to visit the UK to shadow their UK counterparts and share expertise. Prior to this deal Kwik-Fit gained similar experience with over 200 existing franchise outlets across eight countries.
Continue ReadingJoin the EDIWheel Discussion
When Tyres & Accessories was invited to attend TIF’s Electronic Data Interchange Wheel (EDIWheel for short) seminar in December, the magazine was pleased to attend and report on the discussions that took place for the benefit of the wider tyre industry. Following our report in the January issue of the magazine, it appears that our coverage has been something of a catalyst to the discussion of this issue within the various parts of the industry.
Continue ReadingEDIWheel Seminar Paves The Way for E-Business Protocol
In December, around 70 members from the tyre industry gathered together at Coventry to attend a seminar, organised by the TIF. The seminar had only one subject – EDIWheel, or Electronic Data Interchange Wheel. The 70 delegates represented a true cross-section of the industry and, in his introduction, David White of Kwik-Fit, said that 21 per cent of the audience were from the e-commerce sector, 20 per cent were wholesalers, 37 per cent manufacturers, 10 per cent from trade associations and 14 per cent were tyre dealers.
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