marketing Archives - Page 149 of 216 - Tyrepress

The bigger the tyre brand, the more important marketing becomes in order to communicate its values and its worth. With this in mind, the “marketing” tag collates all the latest marketing-related news and analysis into a single place. This reverse-chronological list of thousands of articles is your go-to source of tyre industry, marketing-related news and information.

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TRW Appoints O’Gara to CV Sales and Marketing Director

TRW Automotive Aftermarket has appointed industry expert James O’Gara to the newly created role of HCV sales and marketing director for the UK and Ireland. O’Gara will report to Tim Ward, operations director, TRW Automotive Aftermarket UK. According to the company, the news forms part of TRW’s product and marketing plans for 2008; and is a bid to further develop the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) sector.

James O’Gara (42) joins TRW from his most recent position as sales and marketing director, Brake Engineering. Prior to that he worked at Delphi with the Lockheed brand. With experience totalling some 23 years in the UK IAM, James has particular knowledge of the commercial vehicle market and gained significant industry experience when he was responsible for developing and selling CV products for Borg & Beck into the aftermarket.

11th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Maintains Strong Sales Growth & Profit Margins in 2007

Hankook Tire’s claim to be one of the world’s fastest growing tyre manufacturers was given a boost today by the release of its 2007 results. The South Korean company posted global sales of KRW 3.2 trillion (£1.77 billion) in 2007, an 11.8 per cent year-on year increase. Profit margin dropped slightly to 8.1 per cent while consolidated operating profit increased 5.1 per cent to KRW 263.6 billion (£144 million). While this latest profit margin is down 0.6 per cent on that recorded in 2006, Hankook defends the still respectable figure by pointing out that the previous year’s – and the current – margin was the highest amongst all major tyre manufacturers, last year’s outstripping the nearest competitor by two points.

Other milestones of note for the company include European sales – in the fourth quarter these increased by 9 per cent on the previous year – along with year-on year UHP tyre sales across all global markets; these increased 10.5 per cent. Hankook’s CEO believes his company’s efforts to build upon both product and brand quality has been instrumental in all such positive results.

11th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Breakdown Service Spreads Tyre Safety Message

The public has heard it a number of times before, and from several authoritative sources, but the tyre safety message doesn’t seem to be one that readily sinks in. Now nationwide breakdown service Autonational Rescue has added its voice, urging motorists not to get “tyred out” when it comes to carrying out basic safety checks on their car.

“Tyres appear to be one of the most neglected areas of the vehicle but they can be either a life saver or killer in the wintry conditions we experience at this time of year,” comments marketing manager Ronan Hart. “They should be checked regularly for damage or any signs of wear and tear. It’s not sufficient to give them an occasional kick to check pressure or a cursory glance at the tread.”

11th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Consumer Info Kiosks at Goodyear Gemini Stores

After a successful test marketing trial last year, Goodyear has decided to place interactive consumer information kiosks in some 2,000 Gemini Automotive Center locations across the US, Goodyear made the announcement last week at its North American dealer meeting in Dallas. The freestanding kiosks feature a touch screen and were developed to simplify sometimes-complicated automotive systems for a consumer to understand.

5th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti to Supply General Lines to Canadian Tire

Continental Tire North America announced a business relationship with mega-retailer Canadian Tire, which will take on two new General tyre lines later this year. The products will be unique to Canadian Tire, CTNA officials said, and will provide coverage for some 70 per cent of the prevailing passenger tyre market in Canada.

CTNA said the deal is “one of the largest agreements in the history of both corporations.” The deal covers some 464 Canadian Tire locations from coast to coast. “As the country’s leading automotive retailer, and given our status as Canada’s tyre experts, we are excited to add these innovative tyres from CTNA to our broad assortment of national brand tyres,” said Tony Kuczynski, vice president of Canadian Tire. “Continental has shown a true commitment to the General brand with the introduction of several new and exciting product lines, and we’re happy to bring two of these lines into our stores.”

5th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Spring Price Hike For Toyo Tire USA

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. has announced that it will increase pricing on consumer and commercial products up to six per cent. The new prices are effective from March 1, 2008.

“Due to continued escalating increases in raw materials, energy, and transportation costs we must increase our prices on consumer and commercial tires,” said Steve Weinger, senior vice president, sales & marketing, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “We wish to thank our dealers for their continued support and assure them Toyo remains dedicated to providing the highest level of product quality and customer service.”

5th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

TyreSafe Welcomes Toyo to its Ranks

Toyo Tyres (UK) has become the latest tyre company in the UK to pledge support to TyreSafe. The company adds its name to a growing list of organisations from both within and outside the tyre industry to sign up to support the organisation’s tyre safety activities.

“We have been impressed with the impact that TyreSafe has had in the area of tyre safety – an area important to the Toyo sales & marketing programme. And so we felt that we should offer our own help and support to raising the awareness of this vital road safety subject”, said Martin Sutherland, Toyo Tyre’s general manager – Sales.

5th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Students Invited to Become Bridgestone E-Reporters

Once again Bridgestone is offering students throughout Europe the opportunity to have their budding journalistic talents noticed. The 2008 Bridgestone e-reporter competition is open to all full-time students in Europe who are aged between 18 and 30, and submissions are being sought by those who wish to, in the tyre major’s own words, “help launch their reporting career.”

Entry into the competition is as simple as penning a 300 word article (and interview questions) on a newsworthy story, and completed pieces can be submitted online at www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter. A panel of highly respected media personalities and international journalists will critique the respective merits of each received entry, and eight finalists will be selected. Each will attend a European Formula One Grand Prix weekend, where their skills will be honed as they report upon the Bridgestone backed GP2 Series. All eight finalists will also be invited to the first European Grand Prix of the 2008 season, in Barcelona (25 – 27 April), to launch and celebrate the Bridgestone e-reporter competition’s fifth year.

5th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CMA & Double Coin Announce New Brand Image

A new look is being rolled out by CMA, LLC and Double Coin tyres in the US by way of a new logo design and brand positioning. The new image, reports the North American distributor of the Chinese made brand, represents the changing dynamics of the organisations and the products, while the new logos provide the backbone of a new marketing campaign and strategy.

“The new CMA logo will match our business target of a progressive, modern corporation” CMA’s president, Mike Yang, said. “CMA’s business has changed since its formation as an organisation in 1997. This new logo represents our growth and future direction.” Aaron Murphy, vice president of CMA, added: “CMA has been known as a cutting-edge manufacturer and supplier. As we energise our marketing and manufacturing to position ourselves as a Tier 2 supplier, the perception of our image must match.”

4th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kraiburg Names Holger Düx as Sales and Marketing Manager

Kraiburg has announced that Holger Düx became its Retreading Material sales and marketing manager in January. The 39 year-old has been working for the Austrian company for six years, initially as sales manager for Italy and from 2006 as the regional sales manager for South-Western Europe. In the new scope of his duties Holger Düx takes over from the previous sales and marketing manager, Frank Gregory, who left Kraiburg Austria at the end of last year to take on new professional challenges.

“I am looking forward to my new area of responsibility and would like to play an active role in satisfying the requirements of our partners, in the retreading sector and in Kraiburg product and service quality. I am certain that we will enjoy success with our newly designed pre-cure tread product range, consisting of the three product lines, K_base, K_tech and K_plus,” Holger Düx commented.

4th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Drawing Profits from Passenger/LCV Segments

Continental Tire North America says its passenger/light truck tyre division will finish 2007 in the black for the first time in a decade. CTNA CEO Matthias Schonberg and Andreas Gerstenberger, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the unit, shared the news with trade media on February 1. While exact figures are not available yet, the pair assured that CTNA’s passenger/light truck tyre unit ended 2007 with a profit. There was no word on the financial results of CTNA’s commercial tyre business.

Contributing to the group’s results was accelerated sales of General brand products in North America, they said, driven by the General Altimax powerline introduced last year. CTNA officials said some 1.2 million Altimax units were sold in 2007, far exceeding expectations. Production rationalisation in North America, the expansion of CTNA’s plant in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and the addition of a new plant in Brazil also helped drive the year’s results, they said.

4th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Car Dealers and Fast Fits Charge 50% More than Independents

New research produced by Birmingham-based aftermarket research specialists, Encircle Marketing, shows that car dealerships are able to sell tyres at up to 50 per cent more than local retailers. According to the data, details of which are exclusively published in this month’s Tyres & Accessories, the “average” UK passenger car tyre costs £79.79, with only fast fits and car dealership exceeding this ceiling – charging averages of £89.72 and £94.21 respectively.

The report confirms the widely publicised belief that local dealerships sell tyres at the cheapest prices in the market (£62.62), 15 per cent lower than average. The data T&A has seen doesn’t draw any conclusions as to why garages and fast-fits are able to charge prices roughly 50 per cent higher than local independents.

4th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

HiQ Buys 25 LDV Maxus Vans

HiQ reports that it is to expand its fleet customer base with the purchase of 25 new LDV MAXUS vans. The new black long wheel base hi-roof vans are all fully liveried and will support HiQ’s customers across the UK. The 25 vehicles will soon be joined by further vans as HiQ ramps up its fleet service in 2008.

Tony Lewis, LDV’s sales and marketing director handed over the new vehicles to Neil Burrows, HiQ’s managing director, and commented: “HiQ’s aspirations to transform the face of fast-fit are fantastic and it’s great to be supporting an expanding brand. The new vans will ensure that should HiQ’s customers require roadside assistance, support is never far away.”

4th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CV Show and Workshop 2008 Aiming to Break All Records

128 first time exhibitors have already signed up for this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show and Workshop 2008 at the NEC with many regular exhibitors taking bigger stands. The show, which runs from 15 to 17 April at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, is now the biggest annual business-to-business transport and logistics show in Europe.

Last year’s show attracted over 600 exhibitors and 27,000 visitors. “This is due to the enormous range of products and services covered by van, truck, trailer and support service businesses,” said show chairman, David Sedgley. “For three days the NEC really does become the hub of the UK transport industry, with firms using the CV Show as the main platform to launch new products, while supporting sectors use the event as the basis of their marketing activities.

1st February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Enters Partnership with Mazdaspeed

Mazda’s motor racing support operation in North America, Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development, has announced Yokohama Tire as a new partner for the B-K Motorsports Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R LMP2 team as of 2008. The multi-year partnership is, according to Mazdaspeed, more than just a sponsorship arrangement, with Yokohama acting as a key contributor to the team’s overall programme in terms of technical and marketing collaboration. The announcement of Yokohama’s partnership was made simultaneously to a similar agreement with BP.

31st January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors