News articles on the tyre retail business
HiQ is offering consumers the chance to experience the benefits of winter tyres in exchange for penning an independent review. In an attempt to underline the driving advantages and safety benefits of travelling on cold weather tyres once the temperature drops below 7 degrees, HiQ is teaming up with Goodyear to give away 25 sets of cold weather tyres in return for objective reports about their performance, to be showcased online at hiqonline.co.uk.
Federal has announced the first shipment of its new XUV all-season touring tyre to a dealer in Australia. National Tyre Whosaler (NTW), based in Canberra will be receiving the first delivery of new shipment to its warehouse at Sydney, Australia.
It isn’t easy attracting new staff to the world of commercial tyre fitting; indeed both leading and independent service providers report finding it difficult to recruit young, enthusiastic candidates. But for its part Tyre Maintenance is committing to partner with one of the UK’s leading training organisations, Remit (Retail Motor Industry Training).
Kwik Fit has announced that its new parent company (Itochu) is considering moving its retail head office to Letchworth, raising questions about what this means in practice. Could it even mean putting the two businesses into the building that is currently the home of the wholesale wing – Stapleton’s Tyre Services? When questioned on the subject, the relevant spokespeople told T&A it was too early to say.
A Bridgend garage that lost £10,500 worth of equipment to thieves is bouncing back after joining the HiQ network. Waterton Tyre Services now has the fast-fit franchise’s black and white branding above its forecourt, following a £60,000 investment. The garage, based in Waterton Industrial Estate, was robbed at the start of the year after just five months of trading in the town.
Responding to recent speculation that the Government are considering raising the speed limit to 80 miles per hour on motorways, John Ball, Retail Motor Industry (RMI) MOT chairman, commented: "If cars are allowed to go faster there will be an increased need for a rigorous MOT test."
Independent tyre dealers network Point S has more than 1,950 locations in 20 countries, and continues to pursue its international development programme with the announcement that it has entered the Turkish market. The Master Franchise agreement between Point S, represented by its managing directors Jürgen Benz and Christophe Rollet, and Senturkler Holding, represented by co-owner and vice-chairman Senturk Mehmet, was signed in June. The first flagship store was officially opened on 21 September in presence of Senturkler and Point S representatives as well as numerous local politicians, journalists and manufacturers.
A1 Motor Stores, whose battery range includes the Yuasa, UK Batteries and Easystart brands, reports that 2010 was an “exceptional year for battery sales.” The company believes strong sales last year were pushed in part by a double-whammy winter that delivered severe weather both before and after Christmas: Cold weather, A1 points out, accelerates the demise of a ‘tired’ battery as the electro-chemical reaction slows and performance is reduced as the temperature plummets.
Manufacturers wishing to succeed in any automotive industry sector need the right product for the target market. This may appear a tall order when the target market is the entire motor vehicle parc, yet Exide Technologies has developed a range of batteries that caters to vehicles with many differing and specialised requirements. Earlier in the year this attention to market coverage was acknowledged by the Institute of Transport Management (ITM), who awarded Exide Technologies the title of “Best Automotive Battery Range 2011.”
Westlake Tyres has appointed Axle Group Holdings Ltd – which owns both the retailer National Tyres and Autocare and wholesale Viking International – as sole distributor of its passenger tyre range in the UK. Eskay Tyres, part of the Al Dobowi Group, which brings the Westlake brand to Europe from its Chinese manufacturer Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, said the Axle Group’s success and current growth, was “one of the reasons” it became interested in working with them. Viking has significantly increased stocks and same day delivery capability, while the retail division, National Tyres and Autocare, has recently added 20 new branches to the network this year, now totalling 240 sites.
ATS Euromaster has confirmed its attendance at next year’s Commercial Vehicle Show. The retail and servicing company says the event represents a major opportunity to talk to fleets of all sizes. Peter Fairlie, group sales director, says: “It’s important to have a strong presence at the Show as we are the largest commercial vehicle tyre specialist in the industry.
A former high speed tyre tester is the latest HiQ franchisee, putting his product knowledge into practice at a fast fit garage in Frome. Chris Davison from Bath has invested £45,000 in a new business venture with HiQ after 15 years working in tyre design technology with companies including Goodyear Dunlop. HiQ believes Davison’s experience puts him in an excellent position to use his knowledge in a customer-facing enterprise.
Last week, Pirelli opened its very first Pirelli Corsa Venezia retail fashion shop. The 4 million euro store, located in Milan’s fashion district, is the final extension of the tyre maker’s “P Zero Project,” which began in 2002 with small line of shoes and apparel sold through third parties.
With a trend of consistent sales growth over the past five and half years, and with the company on-track to exceed £350 million in total turnover this year, Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) is shaping up to be the largest business of its kind in the UK despite a challenging market environment. To put this in perspective, the best turnover of a company in this sector reported last year was somewhere north of £330 million. Tyres & Accessories recently met with wholesale director Alan Baldwin and the company’s new wholesale marketing manager, Peter Hayden, to find out more.
Things move quickly in the online world. Even business moves “at the speed of thought” as Bill Gates suggested in the title of his book of the same name. While the tyre industry has shown some signs of reticence when it comes to doing business over the Internet, in recent years the tide has turned and most large (and many small and medium sized) tyre companies now see online involvement as a permanent part of their business. However recent developments in social marketing and price comparison sites only go to show that if you don’t keep up you may lose out. Tyres & Accessories analysed the latest data and spoke to some leading players on the frontiers of tyre e-business to see what pitfalls and opportunities lie ahead for the UK and European tyre business.
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