News articles on the tyre retail business
Pneumobil, the retail operation run by Pirelli in Germany, has acquired Bavarian tyre retailer Reifen-Wagner I.S. Auto-Service GmbH & Co. KG. The purchase of this chain adds 15 new outlets to the 70-strong Pneumobil network; the deal will take affect on 1 October.
Continental has placed another €750 million Eurobond with institutional and retail investors; the company says it chose to do so in order to take advantage of “the current positive capital market environment as well as the momentum of its previous bond transactions.”
ContiTrade Africa, a newly founded entity of Conti Global Holding, has bought eight Jody’s Tyre Group fitment stores in Johannesburg, South Africa. ContiTrade Africa is responsible for franchise and retail operations in Africa with two main systems, FIT&GO and Best Drive – some of which are company owned while others are franchise stores. Of the eight stores recently acquired three will be converted into FIT&GO and four into Best Drive with one store trading by the name, Jody’s Tyres.
Continental AG has placed a 750 million euro Eurobond with institutional and retail investors. According to the company, the aim of the move is to reduce the firm’s interest costs. The bond issued by Continental under its Debt Issuance Program established in May has a term of seven years and an interest rate of 3.125 per cent per annum. Interest will be payable annually in arrears. The issue price is 99.228 per cent.
The UK, along with Italy, served as the pilot market for Kumho’s new dealer programme. Since its rollout here a number of years ago, the Ecsta Performance Centre network has grown to include around 400 tyre retailers, while its Italian counterpart, the Kumho Platinum Club, contains some 300 dealers. The Korean firm is now launching equivalent dealer networks in other European markets; our sister publication Neue Reifenzeitung reports on the Kumho Platinum Club’s rollout in Germany.
"Fuel prices are expected to increase throughout the UK as external factors have a great impact on the price of crude oil" said Brian Madderson, Petrol Retailers' Association Chairman. The civil unrest in Syria and Egypt, the reduction by one third in Libya's oil exports and the demand for oil slowly returning to some Asian markets have all had an impact on crude oil prices. The cost of Brent pushed through the critical $110/barrel level last week which equates to a 10 per cent increase since the end of June.
Inflation fell in July but analysts suggest households continue to struggle against falling incomes. The consumer price index (CPI) measure remained well above the Bank of England's target, at 2.8 per cent, while the broader retail price index, was 3.1 per cent. The retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation used as a basis to set train fares as well as negotiate pay deals eased to 3.1 per cent in July from 3.3 per cent in June.
On 1 August, Andreas Penkert, former CEO and director of Continental India Ltd, the former Modi Tyres operation acquired in 2011, has taken over leadership of sales and marketing for Pirelli in Germany. In his new role Penkert reports to Pirelli Deutschland GmbH CEO Michael Schwöbel and Pirelli tyre S.p.A. Central Europe CEO Daniele Deambrogio.
New car sales figures for July, released by the SMMT, show month on month sales were up 12.7 per cent compared to July last year. This continuing buoyancy caused the SMMT to revise its forecast for sales for the year as a whole – up from 2.1 million vehicles to 2.2 million. This figure is an 8.4 per cent increase on 2012 sales.
Surprising new data from Government confirms that Supermarkets now have a much higher share of the UK market for retail transport fuels than previously admitted. The latest combined total for petrol and diesel sees an increase to 46.5 per cent in 2012. This compares with the official total of just 39 per cent for 2011 quoted in the Deloitte study and also 39 per cent for 2012 stated in the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report, such figures were clearly far from being accurate.
Continental Tyres has renewed its contract with Norbert Dentressangle for a further five years, including “a significant extension” to the scope of the operation. In addition to acting as Continental’s UK and Ireland National Distribution Centre (NDC), under the new contract, Norbert Dentressangle’s site at Rugby will also act as a consolidation point for orders which were previously delivered as full loads direct from Continental’s European manufacturing plants to major wholesale customers in the UK.
North-east Scotland Grouptyre member Kenway Tyres has celebrated 30 years in the tyre business, wholesaling tyres into the 8,000 square mile region and operating three retail sites in Aberdeen and Dundee. Kenway has expanded during its lifespan to capitalise on the success of its original site in Aberdeen. “We’re extremely proud of our achievements here at Kenway Tyres”, says managing director Alan Kennaway.
On 5 August, Stuart Crum will begin as Bridgestone Retail Operations’ new president. He fills a position left vacant by the departure of Matt Hoskins last November.
Michelin North America is seeking 2,500 potentially defective tyres, but in order to retrieve these, the company is recalling around 100,000 tyres. The target 2,500 tyres could experience partial or full sidewall perforations that may cause them to experience loss of air pressure. The recall involves certain sizes of the Michelin LTX M/S2, Michelin X Radial LT2 and Michelin Latitude Tour sold primarily in the US, Canada and Mexico. The tyres are typically found on light trucks and SUVs.
The Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) fully supports Robert Halfon MP's campaign and petition for a full Office of Fair Trading (OFT) enquiry into Oil Pricing Process. The PRA submitted a formal complaint in February 2012 to the OFT regarding competition in the market for retail road fuels. Its call for a full UK Market Study was supported by many other trade associations and the cross-party group of MPs led by Robert Halfon.
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