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.
Wegmann Automotive has named Thorsten Thom as its new managing director. The 40 year-old industrial engineering graduate ascended to the position on 1 January 2011. He joins Felix Bode and Markus Vogler on the Group's board of directors.
Kings Road Tyres claims to be at the forefront of agricultural tyre distribution in the UK, and as an official wholesaler for leading agricultural manufacturers such as Michelin, Firestone, Trelleborg and Goodyear, as well as the exclusive UK wholesale distributor for both Taurus and Jetire brands, the company is already able to offer an extensive range of agricultural tyres. This product line-up has been further extended for 2011, with the addition of the premium Kleber agricultural tyre range.
Several strategic management promotions have been implemented by Yokohama Tire Corporation in the US, including the promotion of Dan King from vice president of sales and marketing to senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Dan has been highly instrumental in securing strong performances for Yokohama, including a record year in 2010,” remarked Yokohama Tire president and CEO Takao Oishi. “This promotion reflects Dan’s continued high level of performance, as well as his expanded role since the retirement of Jim MacMaster (former executive vice president and chief operating officer) last year.”
Persistence has paid off for Blackcircles.com. The online tyre specialist has been courting Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, for around three years and the two companies have now finally reached an agreement under which Blackcircles.com will sell its products through a Tesco operated website. The Tesco tyre site is expected to go live in February; Blackcircles.com’s managing director and founder Mike Welch – who in former times packed shelves for the retail giant – commented that Tesco’s marketing clout “will be great for us.”
Tyre supplier and fleet service provider Quinton Tyres has consolidated its operations at three sites into a single location. The new 28,000 square foot site in Dukinfield was set up with a ₤1.35 million investment and will act as a base for Quinton’s entire operations, including mobile tyre fitting, sales, accounts, marketing and a new retail on-site fitting facility.
Expansion work at JK Tyre & Industries’ facility in the city of Mysore and its new project near Chennai will be completed this year and are expected to help the company secure more than 20 per cent of India’s tyre market. Speaking to the Hindu Business Line newspaper, company marketing director A.S. Mehta said the two projects would help the company attain a higher market share through raising the Mysore plant’s capacity from 800,000 to a million tyres a year and from the 400,000 tyres a year expected to be coming out of the new Chennai plant by the end of 2011.
Infinity Tyres Europe Ltd has appointed Jorge Crespo as the company’s new European general manager. Crespo joins Infinity following nine years at Cooper Tire Europe where, as sales and marketing director, he was a board member. Prior to joining the Cooper Avon operation in Melksham, Crespo worked in the rubber compounding industry. However, having trained as a solicitor before entering the business world, he also brings a level of legal awareness into his new management position. Crespo took up his new role on 4 January.
Sport sponsorship is gaining popularity, and the tyre industry is no exception to this rule. While tyre manufacturers used to snatch up motorsport deals and then report the transference of know how and technology gleaned from racetrack experience to their on-road products, these days sponsorship of other sporting codes, such as football, basketball or golf, are increasingly playing a part in manufacturers’ marketing strategies. Now Kumho Europe also intends to follow this path. While the Korean tyre maker is currently still considering if and under which conditions its partnership with Manchester United should be extended, some Kumho people are not convinced of the deal’s benefit within Continental Europe and for this reason the company plans to begin a similar arrangement as premium partner to a team in Germany’s national football league, the Bundesliga. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories, Kumho Germany marketing manager Wolf Fuder said that negotiations to this effect are currently ongoing and therefore the company is not yet in a position to name which team it would enter such a deal with. Kumho would not, however, act as jersey sponsor.
With varying reports of a product shortage and increasing raw material and shipping costs, how do companies sourcing products from China expedite production when the workers in the People’s Republic down tools for two weeks over Chinese New Year? Mould maker Bluestar recently contacted Tyres & Accessories offering the following advice.
Suckling Transport has renewed a contract to fit Michelin tyres across its fleet following an 11 per cent reduction in tyre-related breakdowns since it began fitting Michelin tyres in 2008. The independent petroleum haulage contractor, which runs a fleet of 62 tractor units and 74 trailers from its base in West Thurrock, Essex, has also seen its regroove rate rise from zero to 53 per cent. It predicts an annual saving of £20,000 as a result of the contract renewal.
Yokohama Tire Canada has reorganised its internal structure by creating separate commercial and consumer business units to manage the sales and marketing of the two respective product lines. This revised structure is intended to better support dealers and assist is sharpening the focus of both the consumer and commercial businesses.
In light of rumours regarding Firestone’s departure from motorsport, Bridgestone Americas has released a statement explaining its position, yet the tyre maker’s official words clarify little. Speculation that Bridgestone will dump the IndyCar Series after the 2011 season has existed after it failed to renew its tyre supply contract before the December 31 deadline.
Bridgestone proudly launched its new Ecopia tyre to a selection of the company’s dealer network in November 2010. The event was reportedly held at Stapleford Park Hotel, where the dealers were introduced to the new eco-friendly tyre range that provides reduced costs for its fleets along with reducing their impact on the environment.
Bridgestone’s decision to introduce a new management structure in Europe has resulted in a number of promotions for executives at the company’s UK headquarters. John McNaught will become the North Region (UK, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Sweden) managing director with Sam Enya as the North Region deputy managing director. Enya will also become the North Region sales administration director, focusing on business administration, budgeting and reporting. The North Region countries have already been working together for a number of years but the result of the reorganisation is that the management of all activities has now been defined.
As of January 17 a new president will be at the helm of Cooper Tire & Rubber’s North America Tire Operations. Responsibility for the US$2 million plus operation, which produces passenger car and light truck tyres, primarily for sale in the US replacement market, will be transferred from Cooper Tire & Rubber chairman, CEO and President Roy Armes to Christopher E. Ostrander. In addition to this new post, Ostrander will also serve on the company's Executive Committee and as an officer of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
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