HiQ Tyres & Autocare has partnered with Carsa, one of the nation’s fastest-growing vehicle dealerships. According to the two companies, the new partnership “…combines industry-leading vehicle maintenance, sales, and customer service under one roof.” It also “…sets the stage for an ambitious future national rollout”.
New research conducted by HiQ Tyres & Autocare on tyre changes in the UK has found that drivers in some areas of the UK are allowing their tyres to wear beyond the legal limit, with more than a third of tyres are worn past legal limit.
The HiQ Tyres & Autocare network has recently expanded with the opening of a new location in Tewkesbury. This first HiQ centre in the Gloucestershire town is managed by PJ Nicholls and welcomed its first customers in May. The new centre is located on Ashchurch Road, conveniently situated a few minutes from Junction 9 on the M5 and equipped to provide comprehensive services such as MOTs, tyre changes, and other car maintenance tasks.
HiQ Tyres & Autocare is expanding its HiQ2U mobile fitting service with 12 new vehicles. These additions to the fleet will service the needs of Enterprise Mobility in several areas of the UK, primarily the South East, Luton, Milton Keynes, and the Midlands.
HiQ Tyres & Autocare has further extended its UK footprint with the inauguration of a new service centre in Bicester, an outlet it considers a “flagship” site for the brand. The new outlet is a continuation of the expansion occurring within the network, and since opening in May, it has experienced significant growth and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from local customers.
A “significant investment” is supporting HiQ Tyres & Autocare’s efforts to enhance the standards programme across its UK network. This initiative focuses upon delivering consistent, industry-leading standards throughout its centres and will see consultants evaluating over 200 parameters, encompassing store aesthetics, customer service, and range of capabilities.
There’s no denying that the tyre business has become more digital and connected than ever before, but there are a number of sides to that equation. We know that between 60 and 80 per cent of tyre-buying consumers were doing pre-sale research online before the pandemic. Similarly, industry insiders have been saying that 10 per cent of tyres are bought online for something like a decade now. But anecdotal evidence from tyre retailers themselves reveals that, amongst those working for the large chains at least, many customers walk through the door to receive a tyre change that has already been booked online. Apparently, some of the younger generation just walk in and hold up a QR code on their phone! This month’s Tyres & Accessories looked into these kinds of questions, asking what it means for the tyre business to be digitally native. And it starts with a brand-new ranking of the leading tyre retail, e-tail and tyre comparison websites.
Kwik Fit and its other ETEL-related brands (Tyre City, Tyre Pros and Central Tyre) have dominated the UK tyre retail landscape for years. More recently, Halfords has made our annual tyre retail ranking a two-horse race. However, Michelin’s ATS Euromaster network remains a significant player and other chains such as the Micheldever- and ultimately Sumitomo-owned Protyre have grown consistently over a long period of time. But none of that tells the whole story. While big chains generate significant levels of value and volume, franchise networks like HiQ and First Stop represent another dimension. And medium-sized chains are often so good at what they do that they end up being bought by larger businesses at a premium. And yet none of that reflects the importance of the vast majority of the market – the independent tyre businesses with one or two centres. That’s why June’s Tyres & Accessories aimed to present a more panoramic view of the undeniably indispensable tyre retail business. Here, T&A presents our annual tyre retail ranking as a way of keeping you informed of the lay of the land in the ever-changing tyre retail landscape.
HiQ Sheffield is a relatively recent addition to the HiQ network. The HiQ Tyres & Autocare Sheffield team joined the franchise network in October 2022 when manager George Snelling and his close family took on a new venture to start their Autocare business from scratch following the pandemic.
One of Wolverhampton’s oldest garages has joined the First Stop network, gaining new signage, equipment and access to a range of premium tyres along the way. First Stop Wolverhampton in Chapel was formerly part of HiQ.
Times have been tough in the last couple of years, but if the growth of the top 25 tyre retailers in the UK is anything to go by, the nation’s leading tyre retail businesses are taking triumph from adversity. Of course, Halfords’ acquisition of National Tyres and Autocare’s parent company at the end of 2021 makes up a big part of the new UK tyre retail landscape, but it is clear that adding branches to existing networks (either by organic growth or by acquisition) is a common theme across the board.
Bridgestone’s First Stop Tyre and Car Services retail chain is rapidly accelerating towards its goal of 220 branches by 2024 following a string of strategic new signings as well as a run of existing partners agreeing to five-year extensions during November 2021.
Goodyear’s HiQ Tyres & Autocare franchise network has beefed up its social media presence by debuting on the increasingly popular TikTok platform. It is utilising the app to publish “relevant and relatable content” and shares that the HiQ account has reached a high number of views, followers and likes within a short period of time – “which we hope has increased general awareness of our brand.”
Goodyear’s HiQ fast fit network has launched its HiQ2U mobile tyre fitting service across the Midlands. This service is now available across the Midlands from Coventry to Birmingham and includes the surrounding areas. Motorists can receive tyres and tyre fitting services at their doorstep between 7:00am and 7:00pm Monday to Friday and between 8:30am and 12:30pm on Saturdays.
With a pandemic, an MOT extension and three lockdowns to contend with, describing the last year as “difficult” would be an understatement. Nevertheless, tyre retailers have demonstrated that they are not only key workers essential to keeping the British Isles rolling, but also versatile and resilient businesspeople during the last 12 months. A quick look at the top 25 UK tyre retail chains 2021 table reveals that it has been a more eventful year than normal in terms of branch openings and closings, but overall the clear message is one of consolidation. As a result, the top 25 UK tyre retail chains wield more power than ever. Specifically, the top 25 now run 2528 branches between them. When our coverage of this area began back at the end of the 2008/2009 tax year, the figure was 1978. During the interim, the rough estimate for the total number of tyre retailers national has stayed stable at around 10,000 specialists (that number is roughly double that if you include general garages). This means the top 25 occupy roughly 25 per cent of the number of branches, up 6 percentage points since 2009.
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