Michelin’s social media influence continues to lead the pack in the UK, according to our latest social media influence for companies operating social media networks for the local markets. And what’s more, the entire top three on this year’s table is the same as it was in 2017 – meaning Continental retains second place and Dunlop keeps third.
Nearly 20 years after Stapleton’s introduced the ProfitLink ecommerce system, the company is rolling out an upgraded version along with the latest edition of TyreSurf. The news follows an earlier ProfitLink overhaul just a few years ago, with the introduction of the retail mark ups system. In addition, Stapleton’s made an announcement in May this year, when Stapleton’s Wholesale director Nigel O’Hara revealed that the market could expect a new edition of ProfitLink.
US-based Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 5000” list of top American private companies has named SimpleTire as the fastest-growing automotive brand in America. It was also described as the second fastest-growing retailer in Philadelphia.
US-based vehicle servicing chain Sears Auto Center is now working with Amazon.com to provide full-service tyre installation and balancing for customers who purchase any brand of tyres on Amazon.com. The service will be rolled out across the USA over the coming weeks. In addition, Sears Auto’s own ‘DieHard’ all-season passenger tyre brand has been introduced on Amazon.com.
It’s a hat trick for The Tyre Equipment Company as they have been awarded Feefo Gold Trusted Service status for a third year running. Feefo’s Gold Trusted Service Award is an independent seal of excellence that recognises businesses for delivering exceptional experiences, as rated by real customers.
Zenises’s new tyre subscription business, Cartyzen, has been introduced by the company’s CEO, Harjeev Kandhari, at Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany. The company plans to launch a full service business in Spain, making it the first country in the world to have a full-scale tyre subscription service, following a trial of the model in Germany.
Consumers are increasingly likely to research their tyres online pre-purchase, regardless of whether they complete an e-commerce transaction. Peer review website Tyre Reviews has therefore become an influential destination in the car tyre market: discussing Tyre Reviews’s audience, owner, Jonathan Benson, states that 94 per cent of Tyre Reviews visitors are engaged in the tyre buying process, with its users predominantly “high earning, well educated, male automotive enthusiasts looking for the best possible product for their vehicle.” In 2017, the site delivered 25 million pageviews to tyre buyers, and claims to have influenced around “one-sixth of UK tyre sales.”
Online retailer Tyremarket.com is seeking to establish a market leading position in India through its latest investment drive. With India already the world’s second-largest internet user, and online transactions expected to rise rapidly in the next few years, the company is pursuing a strategy to reach the top spot in what is one of the largest developing tyre markets too. Lead by former Siemens executive Sanjeev Agrawal, and with UK online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com founder Michael Welch OBE on board as strategic adviser and shareholder, Tyremarket.com states that it is “on track for market leading position in the $5 billion plus domestic replacement market.”
Exhausts, Tyres & Batteries Worcester Ltd has invested in CAM Cloud to host its Cameo system in CAM’s data centre. CAM states that the managed service provides quality and convenient maintenance of its server and backup solution at its site on the Blackpole trading estate.
As reported at the start of the month, an eBay tyre fitting service is now available in the UK in partnership with Blackcircles.com. The service was launched at the time of the year when the days grow shorter and motorists should prepare their vehicles, particularly their tyres, for winter roads. Kevin Steward, head of sales, Vehicle Parts & Accessories, UK Trading at eBay, has written the following tips for tyre sellers hoping to capitalise on this season’s winter tyre market.
As we go to print on the December issue of Tyres & Accessories, Micheldever Group is marking a year since Sumitomo Rubber Industries, manufacturer of Falken Tyres for which MTS is UK distributor, bought the UK tyre distributor from previous owner Graphite Capital Management. While the sale was not unexpected, the identity of the new owner may have been somewhat surprising, though SRI’s investment in Falken Tyre Europe following the late-2015 dissolution of its alliance agreement with Goodyear makes the acquisition of a leading distributor a logical move. For Micheldever’s board, SRI was said to be an attractive new owner, with the presumption that it would offer offering longevity, stability, and consistency; as a large, well-established, high quality top-six tyre manufacturer seeking to broaden its knowledge of UK distribution with an already successful business.
Michelin reports an aim of growing online sales through its Euromaster retail network in the UK and Europe by 25 per cent in 2018. This projected growth follows a 30 per cent increase in online sales through Euromaster this year, with online sales accounting for 15 per cent of all Euromaster sales in 2017.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s presence in China’s replacement tyre market has gained a significant boost by the forging of a strategic partnership with e-commerce giant JD.com. Signed 1 December, the agreement with China’s largest e-commerce platform (by revenue) will place selected Goodyear products on a Goodyear-branded JD.com channel and also see the company’s tyre and automotive services centres, which currently operate in ten cities in China, collaborate with the JD.com automotive platform. Goodyear states that this partnership will result in “seamless omni-channel experiences.”
The tyre fitting partnership between eBay and Blackcircles.com trialled in 2016 is back. Promoted as a “fitting option for seamless tyre buying experience,” the new arrangement allows for the fitment of more than 10,000 unique tyre products purchased via the ebay.co.uk site at one of more than Blackcircles 1,200 partner locations throughout the country.
At Agritechnica 2017, Trelleborg will unveil YourTire, a new online service that allows customers to personalise their Trelleborg radial tractor tyres. Using the YourTire online configurator tool, customers can add their name or logo to new tyres, bringing a new level of personalisation to farm machinery.
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