News articles on the tyre retail business
You wouldn’t dream of buying second hand underpants, would you? Not even if they weren’t too shabby and looked perfectly serviceable? No? What strange priorities we have – the idea of togging up in someone else’s castoff briefs is enough to make most people shudder, even if the risk to health and safety from doing so is nil. Yet when it comes to tyres, something we entrust our lives with, thousands of Britons are perfectly happy to dress their cars with a pre-used product.
Grouptyre member and wholesale operation of BA Bush & Son, B.A.B. Distribution has announced an expansion of its operation along the east coast of England. The company currently operates 17 centres across Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire, Humberside and Cambridgeshire, having opened four new facilities over the past two years, and it now aims to have 20 outlets by the end of the year on the back of continued growth. The wholesale group says the expansion shows that it is committed to growing its market share by investing to improve the supply chain.
Al Futtaim Motors’ new Express Tyre & Battery fitting centre recently became Dubai’s first firm to fit what is purportedly “the fastest wheel aligner in the world” by introducing the 4D Master Aligner. Located in Al Quoz Dubai, the FastFit branch is described as a one-stop shop solution for those benchmarked services and fast turnaround times.
The 4D Master Aligner reportedly operates 50 per cent faster than any other wheel aligning machine in the UAE market today. It uses cameras to capture eight measurements per second, guaranteeing real-time visualisation of data on the control unit screen, along with LCD repeaters integrated into the rear measuring heads, permitting simultaneous work under the vehicle on adjustment operations.
Two local businessmen have opened the latest HiQ franchise to be added to the network, which now numbers over 150 UK branches. Former car dealership bosses Keith Hancock and Matthew Stone opened the new centre on Stag Road as part of a new business venture to increase HiQ’s prominence in Kent, eastern Sussex and Surrey. The Tunbridge Wells centre offers full servicing in addition to the normal fast fit activities.
Voith Industrial Services has appointed Jack Callaghan in a bid to further expand the company’s business in wheel and tyre assembly operations throughout the UK and mainland Europe. Callaghan, who has more than 20 years’ experience in wheel and tyre operations in the automotive sector, has been appointed business development manager based at Voith Industrial Services’ UK headquarters in Warwick.
National Tyres and Autocare has appointed Joe Dutton as product development manager to head up the development of sales for non-tyre products. The role will focus on the augmentation of the autocare side of the business which includes exhausts, brakes, batteries, suspension, oil and filter and MOT along with new products and services. According to the company, Dutton will work closely with operations and also with National’s autocare partners and manufacturers to ensure that the product offering is highly competitive.
While the products sold in the tyre industry are undoubtedly high-tech, those working in the business are amongst the first to admit they are anything but computer technicians. So when people start talking about computational protocols such as EDIWheel, and waxing lyrical about how this evolution of the commonly know EDI standard, people’s eyes tend to glaze over. However with many of us still wondering how the tyre retail and distribution sectors are going to handle the administrative nightmare that 2012’s labelling law could bring with it, Tyres & Accessories asks if the EDIWheel standard can help solve the problem.
The Parts Alliance has announced that it has signed a contract woth more than £20 million with Kwik-Fit to supply braking products to the fast fit network. Under the new agreement, which The Parts Alliance calls one of the largest to be awarded for a single product group in the UK aftermarket, the network will supply all replenishment stocks and on demand braking requirements nationwide. Kwik-Fit currently has 676 retail centres in the UK, and is a major installer of braking, though its supplier says it will seek to develop the product group further in its new partnership.
A Nissan and Ford approved dealer, J S Holmes Ltd, located on High Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire has added a comprehensive car service facility to its business. The new on-site fast fit operation will be part of the HiQ network and has been taken on by new franchisee Martin Holmes – one of three generations still involved in the business today. Holmes said: “It is great for us to be linked to a national brand, giving us the opportunity to be competitive in the market.
Pellon Tyres in Halifax recently hosted Huddersfield Town footballer Scott Arfield, when he visited the branch for two new Kumho tyres to be fitted to his Volkswagen. The meeting came about after Pellon’s Eric Roberts, himself a life-long Huddersfield Town fan, was contacted by a friend to ask if he could help a friend fit a “couple of tyres” on his car.
Merityre Specialists Ltd is celebrating the company’s golden jubilee having supplied tyres, batteries and exhausts to motorists for 50 years. The company was formed in Sunbury on Thames in 1961 and now operates 21 branches throughout Southern England.
A Chiswick-based tyre dealership has diversified to capitalise on its recent success in the high performance segment. Iverson Tyres realised a trend of more customers wanting HP tyres, while fewer were visiting for MOTs and servicing. The company says it underwent an extensive retail development programme, supported by Bridgetone’s First Stop network, to re-focus the company. Iverson Tyres is now a “High Performance Fast Fit Tyre Centre”, combining premium brand tyres with improved in-store customer service, the company says. Bridgestone is also helping the dealership develop its website with a view to generating increased e-Commerce.
Over a two-year period, ATS Euromaster has undertaken what it calls a “record period of investment by the company.” This includes £4 million spent on service and network enhancements last year along with its recently-announced investment plans for 2011: ATS Euromaster intends to inject a further £6 million into its UK fast-fit network in order to introduce a number of new services, including nitrogen tyre inflation, air-conditioning recharging and re-gassing plus computerised wheel alignment.
Servicing Stop, the online vehicle servicing company that gained national prominence through its founders’ appearance on BBC Two’s ‘Dragons’ Den’ in 2009, has entered the online tyre retail business with its new website, Good4tyres.co.uk. In announcing the new venture’s launch, Servicing Stop states this will be “another customer centric endeavour” from entrepreneurs Oly and Toby Richmond.
Automotive industry charity BEN has appointed Peter Cottle as head of business development. Cottle spent ten years in retail banking prior to over 30 in the automotive industry, where he specialised in retail and wholesale finance. He has championed the work of BEN throughout his career.
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