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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Sailun, DistriCash demonstrate UHP tyre performance gains in France
Tyre manufacturer Sailun showed its commitment to the US market by bringing online its tariff-beating Vietnam plant earlier in the year. Now, at an event co-hosted by distributor DistriCash in the picturesque Brittany village, Lohéac, France, the manufacturer has demonstrated its growing response to European markets’ performance demands with its latest ultra-high performance tyre, the Atrezzo ZSR.
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Cooper tops global social media ranking
Cooper Tire is the world’s leading tyre company in terms of global social media influence, according to research conducted by Tyres & Accessories. Meanwhile the 2014 rankings also show that Michelin went up one place and held off Continental to top our UK chart. There has been significant change in both cases as well as a strengthening in the online presence of mid-range brands, something we also found in our online brand equity research (see separate article).
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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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Mid-range online brand value growing
French manufacturer Michelin has won our global online tyre brand value rankings for the seventh consecutive year. However, while Michelin deserves credit for the unparalleled achievement. This year’s research also shows significant growth from Korean manufacturers/mid-range brands. Tyres & Accessories once again partnered with NetNames, a partnership that this year celebrates its 10th set of annual results and 10 years of assessing tyre brands’ online prominence and sentiment.
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Hankook stocks hit in factory fire
Hankook Tire’s Daejeon South Korea factory has suffered a fire, the company confirmed on 1 October. The fire is not expected to disrupt production since the damage is mostly to its warehouse. However a fifth of the warehouse has reportedly been lost along with some 180,000 tyres. According to local news reports, the warehouse held products destined for both domestic and overseas markets.
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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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Pirelli leading the market in premium winter tyre OE
The development of the winter tyre market has been a topic of discussion for years now. During the last decade this niche segment has experienced significant growth (see chart 1). And while winter tyres still only account for between one and two per cent UK replacement market share, that isn’t the case across Europe where winter tyre share exceeds 50 per cent. Besides, that doesn’t negate the safety benefits these products offer. Neither does it undermine the retail opportunities available to the trade. And of course the development of winter tyres – as with summer tyres and other products – is best done in partnership with original equipment manufacturers. With all this in mind, it is no surprise that premium-focused manufacturer Pirelli invests what it does in the development, distribution and crucially the communication of the benefits of winter tyres. For example Pirelli held a series of experience events earlier this summer in order to not only explain but also demonstrate the benefits of winter tyres to market customers and partners. Tyres & Accessories attended one such event at Tamworth Snowdome and learnt how strong Pirelli is in this segment and experience the difference winter tyres make – especially on luxury 4x4 vehicles.
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Dunlop Aircraft Tyres to open US retread facility
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is to establish its first retreading facility in the United States in early 2016. It is reportedly evaluating a number of potential sites in the South East of the USA. The Birmingham, UK-based company says it will use the base to boost its competitiveness across the Americas, particularly on popular narrow and wide-bodied jet airliners and military aircraft.
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Taraxagum – Continental unveils brand name for dandelion tyre rubber
More than three years ago, Continental stated that rubber sourced from the Russian dandelion was of “great interest” to the company as a potential substitute for natural rubber in its tyres. It commenced a joint research project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology and reported a breakthrough late last year. Now, at Continental’s press conference at the start of the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Germany, Tire division head Nikolai Setzer has introduced the brand under which the company will market its dandelion rubber products.
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Hankook a tyre supplier for Euro 6 Atego
In addition to supplying original equipment tyres to various MAN truck models, Hankook Tire has also secured original equipment approval for the vehicle said to be the best-selling distribution truck in the world, the Mercedes-Benz Atego.
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‘Obligations not fulfilled’ – Point S Development gives its side of the Dutch break-up story
In a statement released today, Point S Development has confirmed the March 2014 cancellation of the master franchise contract signed with shareholders in the Netherlands in 2010. A new Dutch headquarters, Point S Holland, has now been created. The statement arrives a day after Wim Reijmerink – managing director of the now defunct Point S Nederland operation – told Tyres & Accessories that a number of former partners were holding discussions to form their own tyre dealer cooperative.
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Hungary confirmed for first Apollo greenfield factory outside India
Apollo has confirmed Hungary as the location for its first greenfield facility outside India. The manufacturer says that Hungary was chosen having considered some of its neighbouring Central Eastern European and Asian countries. Apollo’s latest investment, which is planned to total 475m euros over the next five years, was approved by its Board of Directors today.
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Point S split in the Netherlands – “No winners, just losers”
For many years Point S Development has been coated in the glossy sheen of constant growth, but now a scratch has appeared in this growth story – and more than a dab of polish is needed to buff it out. The organisation’s Dutch operation is in acute danger of splitting in two as many local Point S partners consider the return on their master franchise fee too low, they see too little support coming from the company’s international headquarters and no real “European strategy”, and they wish to renegotiate their contracts. But the two shareholders in Point S Development – the national Point S organisations in France and Germany – appear uninterested in revising terms and conditions in the Netherlands, and therefore some Dutch partners are negotiating new franchise contracts elsewhere. Should Point S partners in other markets follow suit, we may see a process that results in no winners, rather only losers.
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Apollo Tyres to restructure African operation
Apollo Tyres Ltd has initiated voluntary business rescue proceedings for its Apollo Tyres Africa Proprietary Limited subsidiary. The company has informed the BSE that a specialist has been appointed to restructure its South African operation; the specialist’s evaluation will “decide the future course of action for the company in South Africa.”
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