News articles on the tyre retail business
The NTDA has organised a series of focus groups, involving around 70 volunteers, designed to assess the needs of women in the tyre market. Women account for a growing proportion of the tyre buying public, with some estimates showing that they represent a third of all retail tyre purchases.
Birla Tyres is expecting its turnover to reach 6.5 billion rupees (£80 million), New Delhi’s Business Standard has reported. Speaking to a press conference at the launch of a new truck tyre (the BT 339+), Amit Choudhury, vice president (technical services) Birla Tyres, said: “With several products already launched and a few more in the pipeline, Birla Tyres is on a fast growth track. We garnered a market share of 11 per cent in truck tyres across the country, and 30 per cent of our products are exported to about 30 countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Belgium. We expect our turnover to touch 6.5 billion rupees in the current fiscal.” Referring to the newly-launched product, he said: “The new product is an extension our main brand BT 339, with higher physical dimensional features. It is specially designed for multi-axle vehicles.”
At present the company’s truck tyre factory in Balasore, Orissa, produces 87,500 truck tyres each month. “The production capacity will go up to 93,000 tyres per month by June 2005,” Mr Amit explained. The Balasore plant was formed as a technical collaboration with Pirelli Ltd. The company owns 2,000 retail outlets, 52 stock points and 80 carrying-forward agents across the country, he added.
ATS Euromaster has begun a phase of trialling nitrogen filled tyres at 25 of its UK outlets through three companies, Pneu-Air, Parkers and Tyresafety, according to a Fleet Week report. The major selling point behind nitrogen inflation is that the gas does not leak through tyre materials as oxygen does. In theory, nitrogen-filled tyres can maintain pressure indefinitely.
Leigh Stote, business development manager at Pneu-Air, said: “Our Uniflate tyre installation will reduce tyre wear and increase tyre life by up to 25 per cent while improvements to miles per gallon figures will improve by 2 per cent.” The trial has been confined to retail customers, but ATS is reportedly keen to implement this scheme with major leasing companies.
When Tyres & Accessories published a question of the month on the subject of run-flat tyres, it provoked quite a reaction. At the time T&A asked: Should run-flat tyres be fitted on new cars as ‘standard’ original equipment?
The answers given were both varied and surprisingly. Although 45 per cent of those who responded answered with a definite ‘yes,’ more than a quarter of readers (27 per cent) said an equally definite ‘no.’ Almost the same number sat on the fence, so to speak, satisfied with the development of a two-tier market. Consequently the majority of respondents were either against or indifferent to the introduction of run-flat technology through OE, while the largest single group were for them. So, the question still remains: does anybody really want run-flats, or are manufacturers trying to introduce them by stealth?
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has announced that it has appointed the RLA Group as its trade marketing agency. The agency will be responsible for developing and coordinating a trade marketing programme covering all group activities. RLA will represent the Goodyear, Dunlop and Fulda tyre brands and the Hi-Q retail vehicle and tyre service network.
Magowan Tyres is a family-owned and run retail and wholesale tyre business, based in Belfast. The founder, Darryl Magowan, has been in the tyre industry for more than three decades and is still in charge of the overall direction of the company.
His son, also called Darryl, is managing director of the company and his speciality is purchasing. With the Northern Ireland market being, in his phrase, “exceptionally price conscious”, it is a distinct advantage if you can buy cleverly. Magowan is very active on the parallel market, importing around eight containers a month from Europe and the USA.
For almost 20 years, Magowan Tyres was purely a retail business, moving into wholesaling only three years ago. I put it to Darryl Magowan (Jr.) that this was an odd time to enter the wholesale sector, with rising transportation and associated costs. His response was that the company had examined the situation carefully and weighed up the pros and cons. The main reason was that there was a growing demand in the Irish market for ultra high performance tyres and a lack of wholesale supply.
The main market for Magowan Tyres is Northern Ireland, especially Belfast, where the company offers deliveries up to five or six times a day, if required. The service in the Irish Republic is less frequent, but a next-day delivery is standard. Because of the low density of population, which, apart from the major towns and cities, is very spread out, running a wholesale operation efficiently and profitably means keeping a close eye on day to day running.
Robert Bernard TRM, the first Michelin Retread Technologies (MRT) franchise in Canada, has renewed its contract with MRT for another five years.
“We are pleased to renew our strong partnership with Robert Bernard TRM,” confirmed Guy Pekle, president of MRT Canada. “As the demand for MRT products strengthen and our growth continues, we remain committed to finding lower cost solutions for customers.” Jocelyn Bernard, vice-president of Robert Bernard TRM Ltée added “our existing structure allows for the sale of high-end MRT products on the road, via our retail distributors and Michelin partners. We are confident that market response will be as good as it has been for the last five years where we have seen consistent, annual growth.”
Michelin says it will continue to focus on the independent dealer and franchises, noting that there are now more than 230 points of sale in North America for Michelin retreads.
Firestone Tire & Service Centers helped to collect 1.2 million scrap tyres, fit for recycling, as part of Keep America Beautiful’s (KAB) Great American Cleanup.
“We wanted to build on last year’s success by helping Keep America Beautiful reach the 1 million tyre mark and continue increasing the recycling of used automotive batteries and engine oil,” said Larry Magee, CEO and president of BFRC. “Through the involvement of our teammates across the country, we not only met but surpassed this year’s goal. Firestone is proud to be a part of Keep America Beautiful’s efforts, and of our company’s track record in protecting the environment and helping strengthen our communities.”
A long-running civil strike in Northern Ireland, that began earlier this year, has had a “devastating effect on the industry,” say market representatives. The dispute has had adverse affects on the operations of the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency Northern Ireland (DVTA) which handles all MOTs and HGV tests and there is call to privatise all vehicle testing.
Birmingham based tyre wholesaler and distributor BMTR Group has announced the appointment of Gary Hickman as director and general manager. Mr Hickman will be based at the group’s Perry Barr site.
The AA has announced that it intends to close AA Tyre Fit, which currently provides a national mobile tyre fitting through a fleet of 130 vehicles, and its Vehicle Inspections business, currently offering inspections on used cars for consumers. According to the company, both businesses have been operating at a loss.
Rondell is to aim at enhancing its market share of luxury and performance brands, the company has announced. The news follows the successful launch of a number of other wheels earlier in the year. According to Rondell’s UK distributor, Sherbrook International, demand for the existing designs has “soared.”
After a long summer soaking and autumn that is showing little sign of being different, demand for wet weather tyres is “soaring,” according to automotive retail chain, Hi-Q.
Following a £5 million investment in its Belfast location, Magowan Tyres is set to benefit from a huge expansion in the mid-range tyre market. A member of Group Tyre UK, the company will now distribute the Italian Stunner brand selling its Scudo and Torneo tread patterns.
Darryl Magowan Jr commented: “We have never had a mid market tyre range before and Stunner is an innovative quality brand – it is great news and there is enormous potential in Ireland.”
Magowan’s claims to be one of the biggest tyre retailers in Northern Ireland. Its Newton Abbey site has a 25,000 sq ft retail depot, 40,000 sq ft wholesale depot and 22 retail and commercial fitting bays. The company explains that its 100,000 sq ft storage space ensures that large stocks are held of all the major brands.
The company is the sole Irish distributor for Federal, Maxxis and Trayal and specialises in UHP, 4×4, SUV, agriculture and truck tyres in addition to mainstream volume tyres.
“One of the strengths of our operation is the Group multi brand tyre policy of carrying all lines and giving a prompt same day delivery service throughout Northern Ireland. We will also be extending our sales operation in the south and are currently finalising our plans for this,” explained Mr Magowan.
Group Tyre UK chairman John Church added: “We are delighted that Magowans has already made such an impact as a Group Tyre member. They have brought new standards of service to the franchised garage trade, retail businesses, fast-fit outlets and the independent sector and the addition of Stunner to the portfolio is going to hugely expand the middle market.”
Stapletons (Tyre Services) Limited has announced the appointment of a new chief operating officer.
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