News articles on the tyre retail business
Cefni Tyres of Llangefni, Gwynedd was named the winner of the first prize in the football themed national promotion organised by Grouptyre and Continental during the early stages of the World Cup last month. The retailer received a Sony 46” full HD LCD TV and home cinema system in the promotion, which ran throughout May, and was presented with the prize by its local Grouptyre member Oak Tyres.
The latest addition to the influential Point S European buying and marketing group – Point S (UK) – is set to embark on a recruitment drive at this October’s Brityrex International show in Manchester. Independent tyre retailers will be the focus of a membership drive by the alliance between the powerful French Point S group and UK Tyres, the network of 13 independent retailers which has signed up to become the British arm of Point S. Point S currently operates in 20 European countries and has more than 1,900 independently-owned tyre retail outlets in membership and sales of over 11 million tyres per year.
UK Tyres currently has 13 member companies with a combined total of 56 retail outlets but Sunderland is confident that figure will grow quickly towards the 100 member companies targeted over the next 12 months.
Pro-Align stocked brand Hunter plans to precede its Brityrex appear by exhibiting its wheel alignment and garage equipment to the European market at August’s Automechanika in . Renowned for quality and ground breaking advances in garage equipment technology; Hunter is changing the face of retail alignment Europe wide! The opportunity to view all this technology on one stage will be on the Hunter’s stand at September’s Automechanicka in Frankfurt, Germany.
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Four wheel alignment servicing is reportedly a growing income stream in the tyre retail sector, and what’s more it is a ‘high margin’ service, which can only help the bottom line. That’s what why wheel alignment and equipment specialists Pro-Align are offering tyre depots a helping hand towards offering this service on the firm’s stand at October’s Brityrex exhibition. As company representatives told Tyres & Accessories: “To ignore [wheel alignment’s] potential means businesses…run the risk of being left behind.”
The Tyre Recovery Association called on retailers and garages to support efforts to eradicate illegal tyre collection and disposal activities at the association’s annual forum day last week (9 July 2010). More than 65 delegates heard a range of presentations from different industry areas and discussed ways to improve recycling rates and abolish illegal activities.
“This year’s forum proved to be a great success which we hope will act as a catalyst to generate even greater support from within the industry,” Peter Taylor OBE, secretary general of the Tyre Recovery Association commented. “A number of very positive ideas and suggestions were shared which could help the industry significantly. One of the major areas of common consensus was in the support that our retail colleagues can provide. Many felt that retailers should become more aware about their duty of care obligations. This could be achieved in a number of ways such as checking that their collector is registered with the Responsible Recycler Scheme. This type of simple action would help to significantly reduce the number of tyres which continue to be illegally stored, dumped or exported.”
GT Tyres in Forres, Morayshire is the third tyre dealer in the UK and Ireland to win a Fastest Lap Award as part of Michelin’s 2010 FLAG promotion. As in previous months, the Fastest Lap prize is made up of £2,500 in vouchers, five PS3 games consoles for fitters and five places on the Michelin-sponsored Porsche Driving Experience at Silverstone.
Recent growth at Chris Mullins Tyres in Gloucester has seen the company expanding its workforce with the appointment of Paul Mustoe as customer service manager. The move reunites 42-year old Mustoe with former colleagues Chris Mullins and business partner John Price, with all three having previously worked together for Ebley Tyres in the late 1980s.
“John and I have known Paul for more than 20 years so it’s great to be working with him again,” says Chris Mullins. “Customer service is as important in the tyre business as is it is in any other retail sector and that’s where Paul’s skills and knowledge are invaluable to us. He already knows many of our customers and is respected by them for his experience and practical advice.”
Continental AG should strike while the iron is hot and sell more debt while the market is in a receptive mood. That’s the view of The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Wilson, who explained in an article published today (14 July 2010) that the company needs the money to service its 8.2 billion euro syndicated credit facility, which is due to be repaid in August 2012:
“Since the start of this year, the company has been promising to issue bonds, the proceeds from which will be used to repay the facility. However, volatility in capital markets during the start of this year meant it was only last week that the company felt confident enough to actually launch a deal.”
Hennessy Industries will be the exclusive supplier of Bada steel wheel weights to Goodyear company-owned stores, reports Tire review. Beginning this summer, the weights will be used in some 600 Goodyear Gemini and Just Tires locations across the US.
Ipswich Tyre Group is expanding with the opening of Premier Body Works in Bury St Edmunds, bringing the total number of depots within its group to six. The new site will continue to focus on its vehicle repair business, and Ipswich Tyre Group will introduce Cameo from Cam Systems after working effectively with the industry-specific software platform in its other centres.
The National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) and its wholesale arm, the Tyre Wholesalers Group (TWG) have warned that "substantial" price rises are imminent. The core raw material price increase reasons for the shortage are nothing new, but the fact that a number of tyre manufacturers closed factories in recent years means there is now insufficient capacity to make up the shortfalls. In addition the fact that last winter was particularly severe across much of northern Europe led to unprecedented demand for winter tyres. With this year's winter selling season due to begin shortly, manufacturers are replenishing stocks of winter tyres in preparation.
The UK R2RC (Right to Repair) strategy group has been disbanded, having decided it has achieved the goals it set when it was formed in February 2007. The decision was made at a recent Automotive Aftermarket Liaison Group (AALG) meeting, from which the UK element of the campaign was born, that R2RC end. The AALG accepted that recommendation.
Jim Mazza, the chairman of the campaign, said: “The motor vehicle specific regulations and guidelines introduced on 1 June 2010, which will run until 2023, are a fantastic outcome and far beyond my expectations. These coupled with other European legislation and directives provide strong protection for the independent automotive aftermarket and ensure an ongoing competitive environment from which the motorist will benefit. The UK Strategy Group is very satisfied with the outcome of the campaign.”
Fast fit retailer Gary Thomson, owner of Taunton’s Priory Bridge Road HiQ, has invested £15,000 on an extension to his business, also acquiring a highly experienced technician. Thomson invested the five-figure sum on new and improved automotive facilities, merging his store with the adjacent Saab dealership. New recruit Dan Wormer, who started working in the automotive industry in 1972, spending over 35 years working for various Saab dealerships, most recently worked on the site that has become the subject of the merger. Additionally Thomson is employing two additional apprentices, as the centre seeks to capitalise on what it describes as “some excellent trading results”.
Kwik-Fit Group Limited has announced that it has agreed to sell its UK Insurance business (KFIS) to Fortis UK Limited for £215 million, a division of Belgium-based Ageas. The transaction is subject to the usual regulatory approval, but is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2010. According to the company, the transaction marks the successful completion of a strategic review for the KFIS business announced in February 2010.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay debt which, together with funds injected into the business as part of the recently completed covenant reset exercise at the end of 2009, will reduce net bank debt to £486 million. In an official statement on the matter, company representatives said the move leaves the business “in a strong position to exploit growth opportunities in its core fast-fit businesses.” It will also go some way towards halting speculation that the company’s private equity owners (PAI) are looking to sell the entire business as the rumours themselves appear to have been based on the size of Kwik-Fit’s debts.
ECI International, the organiser of Brityrex, says a new-look venue will greet exhibitors and delegates at October’s show at Manchester Central (formerly known as the G-MEX. The venue has spent £30 million over the past two years completing a major redevelopment programme. The most striking result of the investment can be seen by the addition of the new Charter Foyer and the new and extended Central Foyer, which have added cohesion to the venue’s facilities and offer greater ease of access within the Manchester Central site. The new Central Foyer is much larger than its predecessor and has added additional event space.
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