Labelling
Well known tyre retail operation Merityre is up and running with a customer-facing display from CAM Systems in readiness to meet consumer requirements around tyre labelling from 1 November and benefit from the opportunity to up-sell to higher margin products.
UK businesses could reduce fuel costs by up to £500 million a year if they fitted more fuel efficient tyres on their company vehicles, according to new research by the Energy Saving Trust. According to a statement from the organisation designed to highlight the fuel saving benefits of low rolling resistance tyres, the difference between the best and worst tyres on the market in terms of efficiency can reduce vehicle fuel consumption by up to 7.5 per cent over the lifetime of the tyres.
For the ETRMA, the introduction of European tyre labelling legislation today is a marked step forward in the evolution of the market place. “Consumers will now be able to buy their new tyres knowing how fuel efficient and noisy they are, and how much grip on wet roads they provide. A new and now compulsory EU label will grade tyres from A to G for rolling resistance (fuel efficiency) and wet grip (safety), whilst the number of dBs on the label will display their rolling noise,” the association wrote in a statement flagging up the official introduction of the rules.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd has launched a new website, which will include new product information, video features and promote greater user-friendliness. Probably the most significant new feature at this time is the dedicated section on tyre labelling legislation. Cooper’s section on the legislation and how it impacts customers is central to the revamped website, clearly explaining the meaning of the different labels, and providing the customer with an accurate understanding of the new legislation.
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd. headlined its participation in Brityrex International 2012 with the introduction of its Green-Max product family to the UK market. According to the company, the Linglong stand was visited by prospective customers, apparently “eager to discuss new developments and opportunities.” The new Green-Max passenger tyre range was said to have been of particular interest and representatives from Linglong’s global headquarters in China were also on hand to welcome visitors and answer questions.
In the past government-backed public sector contracts were seen as the safest business commitments around. With the economic environment being what it is, it is easy to see the attraction of securing business that you know will be paid for. However, with the finances of various European governments looking less stable than they have been for a long time, and with ministries such as the Department for Transport suffering from poor handling of rail bids such as the West Coast franchise, these types of contracts may not be the stereotypical cash cows they were once depicted as. And when you add in the fact that government contracts now have to manage the added administrative burden of labelling (which is effective from 1 November 2012), they certainly aren’t a walk in the park.
You might have expected Kings Road Tyres’ 40th year to have been marked by transition following the Group’s management buyout by Adrian Bader (managing director), Mark Cooper (commercial director) and Simon Lister (financial director). However, with the directors’ vast experience within the company, and the strong emphasis within its wholesale businesses on long-standing partnerships with both tyre brand suppliers and customers, the company told Tyrepress.com that the achievement of the last 12 months has been that “to the outside world, the business hasn’t changed with the ownership”; though strategic and business developments have continued under the new ownership team, some of what has happened was detailed in pre-existing plans and the focus has been on “making it seamless”.
One of the most striking stands at Brityrex was the black and yellow of Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd. Obviously this company does not hail from these shores, but walking onto the company’s show stand, Tyres & Accessories was greeted by a familiar southern accent. As it turns out, while the stand was clearly there to promote the Boto name, the decision to exhibit follows on from the Chinese manufacturer’s decision to partner with one of this country’s largest retreaders/fleet tyre suppliers. According to representatives of both companies Bandvulc will now wholesale Boto truck and bus radial tyres in the UK as well as selling the tyres direct to its fleet customers through its Bandvulc Tyre Contracts business.
When Itochu completed its purchase of the UK’s largest tyre retail operation, Kwik Fit in June 2011, the corporation underlined the separation of the retailer and its wholesale operation, Stapleton’s. A year on, and the latter company has renewed its focus, in its words; the STS, Tyre Pros and Central branded shops are no longer within Stapleton’s remit, meaning that the UK’s largest tyre distributor now has a clear single focus on distribution. “By taking our own retail operations out of the Stapleton’s arena this year we’ve been able to concentrate all our investment, effort and expertise on delivering a doubly effective response to our retail customers’ requirements, building those needs into every strategic move we make to offer real, tangible benefits to our customers’ business,” says Stapleton’s managing director, Yutaka Kimbara.
Need to find a tyre label? CAM Systems is inviting you to try its new Online Tyre Catalogue (OTC). Showcased at Brityrex 2012, the system has been developed in parallel with but distinct from the company’s tyre labelling and CRM solutions that were also launched at the show.
CAM Systems previewed the first stages of its new Retail Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application to its retail customers at the recent Brityrex exhibition. According to the company, the new system granulises data providing them with options for more effective customer capture, contact and sales conversion for operations conducted at the counter, on the phone and over the web.
On its Chinese-language website, the China Rubber Industry Association links the recently-expired US tariff on consumer tyres with the European tyre label – and refers to both as a “double whammy” for China’s tyre makers. The tariff, which the association also called an attempt at trade protectionism, is held responsible for China’s tyre passenger car and light truck tyre exports to the US dropping from 43 million in 2009 to 31 million in 2010 and 27.3 million the following year.
When National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) chairman Stephen Callow made his debut speech at the association’s 83rd annual dinner it may not of been long, but it was to the point. Callow used the opportunity to criticise what he termed as the "frightening and unacceptable" numbers of part worn tyres on sale in the UK.
He told the 500 plus members and guests, gathered for the dinner and Tyre And Fast Fit (TAFF) awards that run in parallel at the Hilton Hotel, Deansgate that market studies put the number of part worn tyres sold annually in the UK at over three million. Of course, other sources put the figure even higher.
Tyre labelling regulations that come into force the week after next offer switched-on workshops an even greater opportunity to sell profit-boosting wheel alignment checks, opines wheel alignment specialist Pro-Align. The label is expected to help retailers move from a primarily price-based, commodity style transaction to a more consultative approach, based on differentiated customer needs or preferences – “a perfect scenario for educating drivers about wheel alignment,” the company says.
Lanxess AG has launched a business-to-consumer version of its new green tyre information app. The launch follows the release of the first version of the consumer orientated app in Europe during the Essen show, then in the UK in September at a tyre labelling roundtable sponsored by the compound supplier. The unveiling of the new app created in conjunction with the NTDA was previewed at October’s Brityrex exhibition before being officially launched at the association’s annual dinner.
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