News articles on the tyre retail business
Devon based IT specialists TEAM Systems is offering a range of systems and services designed to incorporate November 2012's forthcoming tyre labelling legislative requirements. TEAM explained that a graphic (pictogram) is displayed at the point of sale so retail customers can view and be sure the tyre they are buying conforms to the new directive, plus they will receive the relevant information on their printed sales invoice.
National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) figures for October show that average values of used cars sold at auction decreased from £4,718 to £4,558, a 4 per cent decrease. Values for fleet cars recorded a 6 per cent decrease. Year-on-year, the average price of cars at auction has increased just 0.1 per cent from £4,554 a year ago to £4,558 this year.
HiQ will celebrate its third anniversary as a fully franchised network at its “biggest ever” two day conference and business networking event. The conference will be held at Mercedes-Benz World venue in Surrey on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 of November, with more than 120 guests including all Franchise partners, a number of HiQ Centre managers and some key suppliers in attendance.
North East based independent tyre wholesaler and retailer Tyrespot Ltd has appointed Johnathon Shaw as joint managing director. Shaw will hold the position with his father John Shaw who established the company in 1975.
Thanks to a recent promotion run by County Tyres and Continental, motorist Danny Henkus from Chudleigh in Devon has won a long weekend to Barcelona including £200 spending money. The promotion, which required customers to purchase Continental tyres, ran at all County Tyre retail branches between August and September and Dany Henkus bought his tyres and entered the competition at the Exeter branch of County Tyres.
MINI is the latest UK car supplier to launch a dedicated winter tyre programme. While all MINIs are supplied with summer tyres as standard, the company is now offering winter tyre and wheel packages – supplied with steel or alloy rim designs. The company's sets of winter wheels and tyres are available from £560 (not including fitting costs).
Halfords Autocentres proposed the relocation of its Head Office from Olton to the Halfords Group Head Office site in Redditch. The proposed move would see Halfords Autocentres Head Office staff join their Halfords Retail colleagues in Spring, 2012. It is anticipated that the majority of existing Autocentres Head Office staff will transfer to Redditch.
The proprietor of a Bristol tyre business has been ordered to pay £7000 after he sold a 16-year-old product to a consumer. According to Bristol City Council, Philip Church sold and fitted the tyre to a customer's vehicle while trading as C and C Tyres. And what’s more not only was the tyre so far past it sell by date that had it have been human it was nearly old enough to drive itself, he also failed to point out that it was second hand.
Following the news that point S has embarked on a transatlantic expansion plan, the company has revealed that John Cowderoy from point S UK attended the Sema show in Las Vegas too. According to the dealer network Cowderoy flew to the US along with the point S development team to work in partnership with the latest network to join the point S ranks, Independent Tyre Dealer Group (ITDG) one of the largest tyre dealer groups in America.
Distri Cash, exclusive distributor of the Westlake tyre brand in France, recently announced plans to more than double the number of retail outlets it operates over the next three years. Laurent Charlé, purchase manager at Distri Cash, explained “we currently have nine shops and we intend to increase this number to 20 to 25 over the next three years.” On the wholesale side of the business, at present Distri Cash services its 6,000 or so customers from eight warehouses, the last of which entered operation last year.
On the back of a 41.3 per cent year-on-year increase in net sales in the first nine months of 2011, Nokian Tyres retains its outlook that it is “positioned to provide strong sales growth and to improve operating profit clearly compared to 2010.” The Finnish tyre maker recorded group net sales of 974.3 million euros, up from 689.4 million euros between January and September 2010. During this same period operating profit doubled from 130.4 million to 261.0 million euros. Earnings per share also effectively doubled, from 0.85 euros to 1.66 euros per share. Net sales increased 41.2 per cent in the third quarter to 346.3 million euros, operating profit jumped 97.4 per cent to 95.4 million euros and earnings per share increased 122 per cent year-on-year to 0.60 euros per share.
With preparations for the implementation of next year’s tyre labelling laws still very much beginning within the industry, how ready are those in one rung down on the supply ladder in the fleet business? If the latest research is anything to go by, they are some way off the pace for November 2012 implementation of the European rules, with varying levels of understanding of what tyre labels mean. In fact a recent Fleet News survey sponsored by Michelin found that over two-thirds (69%) of the 281 fleet operators who responded are unaware of the forthcoming EU tyre labelling regulations. So will the labelling law make any difference to fleet tyre purchasing?
Tyre dealer network point S has announced its entrance into the American market at an official event on 1 November at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where the company is exhibiting for the first time. US collective The Independent Tire Dealers Group, LLC (ITDG) has signed a partnership with point S, stepping up the group’s international development onto a new continent. Following its entrance into Turkey earlier this month, the network is now present in 21 countries in Europe with over 2,000 depots.
CES (UK) Ltd recently launched Autosessive.com, a retail website which sells consumables, tools and gifts as well as ebeepbeep.com, a customer referral platform (designed in conjunction with The Parts Alliance) for garages to capture a share of the growing online market for car servicing and repairs. SecureTrading provided the online payment processing system.
Fast fit franchise HiQ has announced that it will give free winter safety checks to motorists, prompted by Department for Transport figures indicating a three per cent increase in road accidents resultant from slippery road conditions caused by bad weather in the last five years. The free comprehensive vehicle inspections will be available at all of HiQ’s 150 centres. HiQ fast fit manager Stuart Carr says that the franchise believes winter tyres are “absolutely essential when travelling safely during the inevitable freezing temperatures.”
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