e-commerce and online tyre business news
Australian independent tyre retailer JAXQuickfit Tyres has launched a new website showcasing its range of products and services at www.jaxquickfit.com.au. “JAXQuickfit Tyres is entering its next phase of business development and growth, so we have taken the opportunity to capitalise on what we have achieved over the past few years with a fresh, cleaner look going into the next strategic phase,” JAXQuickfit Tyres CEO Jeff Board said.
The launch of Grouptyre’s goodtyreguide.com proves that the era of apps, widgets and plugins is upon us (see October's magazine for more on this). And while this column doesn’t normally single out individual companies for attention, the fact that we are running both e-Commerce and Wholesale features this month makes this story too apt to miss.
When Grouptyre announced it was seeking to bridge the wholesale/retail divide with a solution that not only ensures it has an online footprint, but also seeks to make the enterprise profitable for everyone involved, it certainly caught the market’s attention (see September’s magazine for details of the launch). That’s not to say that Grouptyre is unique amongst wholesalers in considering an online channel/B2B plugin approach. Far from it. Tyres & Accessories has it on good authority that all of the top three have looked into operating comparable systems. The difference is that Grouptyre is the first one to seize the initiative and take the plunge.
Grouptyre has launched a new e-commerce platform intended to make it easy for consumers to buy tyres via the web. In addition the Good Tyre Guide (www.goodtyreguide.com), as it is known, is also designed to channel business to retailers so they can get a share of the growing online marketplace.
In its launch information Grouptyre reports that consumers are increasingly happy to buy online, citing data that suggests UK shoppers spent £38 billion in 2009 (source: 4psmarketing.com). With the launch of new site Grouptyre says it is determined that its tyre retailing customers won’t get left behind.
E-Commerce tyre seller etyres has released a YouTube instructional video for changing wheels on passenger cars with a difference: it is presented by a 10-year old. William Stepney shows viewers, in the words of etyres, that "you don’t need to be a qualified mechanic or have Vin Diesel’s biceps to fit the spare tyre."
Michelin has topped Tyres & Accessories’ exclusive online brand prominence rankings for the sixth consecutive year, totting up a record high score as it went. In our second online brand equity measurement – sentiment – compiled in association with the artificial intelligence experts at Cambridge-based Envisional, Michelin won-out for the third year on the trot, demonstrating the firms continuing dominance in this field too.
The Envisional analysis into online appearances or “mentions” of 17 major tyre brands, followed identical studies (looking at 12 of these brands) carried out in September 2005, August 2006, July 2007, October 2008 and September 2009. The major difference this time round is that the 2010 report also includes five up-and-coming brands produced in the Far East and while the data shows that they have a way to go before they will be giving their premium competitors a run for their money, certainly as far as online marketing is concerned.
Damon Audia, Scott Honnold and Jenny Wang have been appointed to new leadership positions in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's finance department. Audia, senior vice president, finance and treasurer, was elected senior vice president, finance for the company’s Asia Pacific region, which is headquartered in Shanghai, China. Audia replaces Jenny Wang, who has accepted a new position in the company’s Asia Pacific operations. Scott Honnold has been elected vice president and treasurer, replacing Audia. Honnold was previously assistant treasurer, responsible for Goodyear’s capital market activities.
Amazon.com customers can now choose from a catalogue of over 10,000 wheels after the online retailer, originally known for taking the lead in web-based book and CD sales, announced the launch of its Wheels Store (www.amazon.com/wheels). The site also offers a range of roughly 12,500 mainly motorbike and car tyres.
According the company, the store showcases a vast selection from top brands like American Racing, Dip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., KMC, Mickey Thompson, Sacchi, Konig and Veloche. As in the Amazon.com Automotive Store, customers looking for wheels will discover the Automotive Part Finder, a powerful search tool that helps customers quickly find the wheels guaranteed to fit their specific year, make and model.
Following a half-year absence from the world wide web, UK based motorcycle and car tyre online retail portal www.fasttyres.co.uk has returned under new ownership. The company behind the resurrected website is Fast Tyres Direct, and company owners Gary Kay and Michael Webb say the site has been retained in its original format to ensure the same high standard of user experience. While some changes to the site are planned, Kay and Webb emphasise its ‘traditions’ will be maintained.
National Tyres and Autocare reports that it has teamed up with eBay to offer car and van tyres to consumers online. National joins well known retail names Tesco, Argos and Debenhams as a top rated seller on the popular site. According to the company, the new partnership enables National to “reach out to a greater number of customers.”
Michael Bourne, group marketing director at National Tyres and Autocare, commented: “We are always looking at innovative ways to reach new markets. Our research found that traditional eBay customers were unlikely to consider high street retailers for their tyre purchases, assuming prices to be uncompetitive.
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.
Blackcircles.com’s newly updated site recently received a Hitwise award for being in the top 10 in the United Kingdom 'Shopping and Classifieds – Automotive' category. Mike Welch, Blackcircles.com's managing director and founder said:"I'm delighted with what the guys have developed. The site is looking great and is a lot easier to get to grips with. This is an important step for us and shows our ongoing commitment to improve our customer's online experience. I'm confident that everyone will find our new website a lot easier to use and that their experience with Blackcircles.com will now be better than ever".
Since its foundation in 1973 Deldo Autobanden has grown consistently to become one of the major players in the European replacement market. After 37 years, the company states that a transparent policy, a healthy (family) spirit and excellent service are still the key factors behind its success – a success that saw almost seven million tyres being sold last year.
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.
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.
Midas, the business-to-business e-commerce platform from Cam Systems, has reached £1 million pounds worth of tyre transactions in a single business day, reflecting what the company believes to be an upward trend in e-commerce in the independent tyre industry.
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