Kwik Fit seeking town properties as part of expansion plan
Kwik Fit has commissioned property consultancy Rapleys to find “new centres across the country”, in a move that reveals the market-leading fast-fit’s expansion plans.
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Kwik Fit: Pandemic has prompted car purchasing
Data released by the UK car industry throughout the pandemic has shown the negative impact of Covid-19 on sales of new and used vehicles, but new research shows the figures could have been worse. A study for Kwik Fit indicates that as 3.8 million drivers said Covid-19 caused them to put off a planned car purchase. However, this was partially offset by the fact that 3.2 million drivers were prompted by the impact of the pandemic to buy a new or used car.
Vehicle SORN numbers up 9% during pandemic
Kwik Fit has taken a look at data published by the government and notes that the pandemic was responsible for an additional quarter of a million cars being taken off UK roads. The automotive servicing and repair company reached this conclusion after comparing the number of vehicles officially off road with a registered SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) in the last quarter of 2020 with figures for the final quarter of 2019.
The top 10 UK tyre retail chains 2021
Kwik FitWith 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.
Kwik Fit pilots Kwik Fit Club tyre subscription scheme
Kwik FitWith the launch of Kwik Fit Club membership, the UK’s largest tyre retail has become the latest to offer a tyres-as-a-service style wheel and tyre subscription offer. Initially, the Kwik Fit Club service is being piloted in the North West and Yorkshire regions, with a national roll out to follow this summer.
Kwik Fit Club membership sees drivers pay a monthly subscription which covers all their tyre wear, including repairs and premium tyre replacement, wheel alignment and six-monthly health checks. They also have the option to include their MOT and servicing costs. Drivers can join the programme and keep track of their subscription through an app, and although they can nominate a ‘home garage’, their membership can be used at any of Kwik Fit’s 600-plus centres across the country.
50 years of Kwik Fit
Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of a brand that launched an entire automotive sector and today is familiar to every motorist up and down the land. On 16 April 1971 in McDonald Road, Edinburgh, the first ever Kwik Fit centre opened its garage doors to motorists, offering the new concept of ‘fast fit’ services, replacing components while drivers waited.
BTCC: On the Limit returning in 2021
Kwik Fit shares that the documentary series On the Limit, which lifted the lid on the British Touring Car Championship last year, will return for a second series in 2021.
Fast feet at 50 – Kwik Fit fitters dance to raise awareness of prostate cancer risk
Kwik Fit is marking its 50th birthday by encouraging people to don their overalls and dancing boots and do the famous ‘Kwik Fit fitter dance’, whilst helping to highlight the increased risk of prostate cancer to men aged over 50.
Kwik-Fit report shows cost of pothole damage rises despite huge drop in mileage
New research released today (31 March) reveals that the impact of the pandemic has resulted in the average driver reducing their mileage by 42 per cent over the last year. However, there has not been an equivalent drop in the amount of pothole damage to the nation’s vehicles.
Pro-Align appoints ex-Kwik Fit manager to sales team
Workshop equipment and wheel alignment specialist Pro-Align has appointed a former Kwik Fit branch manager to its sales team. Tom Burkett, a former director and owner of a mobile tyre fitting service and branch manager at Kwik Fit, has been appointed to join the team as a sales executive, covering the Midlands and South Wales region. The Hunter distributor said the addition of Burkett will provide “even greater levels of support to workshops across the country.”
Kwik Fit offers staff real-time wage payment
ETEL Group, Kwik Fit and Stapletons Tyre Services tyre retail brands, has made Wagestream available to its 7,000 staff. Wagestream offers a suite of financial education solutions including real-time access to earned pay.
Kwik Fit: Pandemic changed car buying plans for 14 million UK drivers
The threat of coronavirus and our response to this has changed much in the last six months of year, and a study conducted on behalf of Kwik Fit shows that car buying plans are no exception. While the end of the first lockdown saw a rise in car sales due to pent up demand, it seems the pandemic has changed the vehicle purchase intentions of as many as 13.9 million UK drivers.
2020 vision impossible in an unpredictable year
Free Photos; PixabayIt is somewhat ironic that the number 2020 has inherent associations with perfect vision and yet this year has turned out to be the most unpredictable in a lifetime. For example, no-one saw President Trump’s twitter-borne sideswipe at Goodyear’s tyres coming last month – how could they? However, on a more serious note, the effects of uncertainty has real-life impact. And this month has seen more than its fair share of such harsh realities in the tyre industry.
This article appears in full in the October edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
Itochu sold 26 Kwik-Fit freeholds in the first half of 2020
While speculation continues relating to the apparent sale of the Kwik-Fit tyre retail business, we do know that the Itochu-owned enterprise sold the freeholds to 26 of its branches in a double-digit million-pound series of transactions during the first half of 2020.
Kwik Fit owner Itochu prepares for sale scenario
The UK’s largest tyre retailer, Kwik Fit, is being prepared for a sale. The Japanese Itochu group, which owns the European Tyre Enterprises Ltd (ETEL) holding company that controls both Kwik Fit and its wholesale counterpart Stapleton’s Tyre Services, has appointed investment bankers Nomura to advise on strategic options for the company, according to Sky News, with insiders suggesting a sale is very likely.
