News articles on the tyre retail business
The UK’s number one wheel balancing weight maker, Trax JH, is in the process of expanding its production of clip-on balance weights to include steel. The steel products are expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2009, following the installation of new machinery at the expanded Trax factory in Wales. More details are expected to follow when production gets underway at the end of 2008.
Motorists passing the Eden Tyre Sales Farndon Road, Newark branch will have noticed the “life-size” Michelin man standing on the forecourt. According to the company, the iconic figure is a free airline service, dispensing air to any passing motorist eager to maintain correct tyre pressures to minimise fuel consumption, reduce CO2 emissions and to be certain that the car handles and stops as efficiently as possible.
Hankook Tire has announced second quarter sales of 1117.2 billion won (£557.8 million), a year on year growth of 27.5 per cent, and 11.5 per cent quarter on quarter. Operating profit, at 79.0 billion won (£39.45 million), was 2.4 per cent down on the second quarter of 2007; likewise, recurring profit, at 89.8 billion won (£44.84 million) was also down 2.4 per cent. The quarter operating profit margin was 7.1 per cent.
Hankook reports sales revenue was boosted due in part to a weakened Korean won and an increase in tyre prices implemented in response to rising raw material costs – the company comments the tyre industry is facing increased pressure from a 24.3 per cent year on year increase in raw material costs, with natural rubber prices alone rising 40.5 per cent year on year. More than half of tyre production costs are now attributed to raw materials, adds the South Korean manufacturer.
Leading online tyre retailer, mytyres.co.uk, has refreshed the design and layout of its UK site. Describing the redesign as “putting customer service at the forefront” mytyres’ newsletter explained that the redesign focuses on a brand new shop layout, which is “even easier to use – and much more customer-friendly.” The mytyres e-tail portal is the UK branch German online tyre retail and wholesale company Delticom AG.
Managing director of DEKK Partner, the Norwegian retail co-operative that has 300 Nordic-area dealers, Leif Kristiansen recognizes that, for his organisation “the winter market is the most important season for DEKK Partner and all tyre dealers in the Nordic market.”
In this sector, winter tyres have an obvious place, a fact Kristiansen acknowledges when he states that “50 per cent of the turnover per year is in the period from the end of September to the end of December.” This fact of the market means that the company is somewhat dependent on the seasonal weather arriving on time at the beginning of November for the business to meet its financial targets.
Continental has added three new staff members to its UK truck division sales team. These new positions, says Conti, have been created to support the division’s growth with dealers and truck operators at both national and regional level.
Zoe Worley joins the company as key account manager, National Fleets. Her previous experience includes account management positions with Lloyds TSB Autolease and Reality Group. Ms Worley will be responsible for developing the Continental brand within key national fleets as well as integrating them with ContiNetwork, Continental’s independent retail network.
Kwik-Fit Fleet reports that corporate demand for its range of non-core services – vehicle servicing, MoTs and brake inspection and replacement – has soared in the first six months of 2008. In addition an increasing number of businesses and company car and van drivers are reported to be turning to Kwik-Fit Mobile for tyre repair and replacement and tyre safety checks taking demand to unprecedented levels. Kwik-Fit Fleet anticipates this demand will continue to rise as companies review their fleet operating policies in light of the continuing credit crunch.
Kwik-Fit Fleet introduced vehicle servicing and MoTs to fleet cars and vans two years ago, following a retail pilot. Earlier this year, growing corporate demand for the company to regularly service company cars and vans led to it improve its offering to businesses with the launch of its ‘While U Wait’ manufacturers’ service initiative. The 275,000 strong vehicle fleet belonging to Lex, the UK’s largest contract hire and leasing company, was the first to benefit from this new initiative.
In the last few years Autogem Motor Concepts LLP has grown rapidly from a faltering supplier to an influential player in the tyre and workshop consumable business. The turning point came in September 2005 when the Invicta group of companies took over the reins at Autogem. Initially, the new owners embarked on the project with a team of just 10.
The first major move the new managing partners, brothers Prashant and Adit Chopra, made was to consolidate Invicta and Autogem’s existing four warehouses into one bespoke distribution centre in Park Royal, London. They have been in their current warehouse/offices since April 2006 and closed Autogem’s inefficient old Leeds telesales operation in July 2007, after winding down the business’s dependency on this location. Here, the staff of 50 was reduced to just two, with the rest taking redundancy. This rapid reduction in headcount could be seen as harsh, but from Autogem’s management’s perspective it just demonstrates how inefficient the company they took over had become.
Michelin North America celebrated the grand opening of a second retail outlet on July 22. The shop’s official ribbon cutting ceremony, at the Westgate Mall in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was attended by Jim Micali, chairman and president, Michelin North America, Parmeet Grover, Michelin brand director and Jeff Jacobs, director of Michelin identity merchandise, and was conducted by Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnett.
“Michelin offers consumers a brand that has a unique combination of heritage and vision for the future,” said Jacobs. “We are excited to open ShopMichelin in Spartanburg, where Michelin already has a presence. While Michelin on Main located in downtown Greenville is Michelin’s first retail shop, it also serves as a destination location where consumers can fully experience the Michelin brand. Here at ShopMichelin located in the Westgate Mall, the store will be more of what you might expect in a mall environment, with the merchandise being key.”
Former HiQ Retail Director, Chris Kisby, has successfully bid for the South Midlands, East Midlands and West Midlands zones of the HiQ Franchise Programme. Kisby, who has 30 years experience in the tyre industry, leads an investment group who have been named as the preferred bidder for the region. He will step down from his current role of Goodyear Dunlop UK Director, Consumer Tyres with immediate effect to avoid any conflict of interest.
The announcement follows the news that a management buyout led by HiQ MD Neil Burrows and three other managers was not successful in its bid for a national retail franchise. According to a Goodyear representative, Kisby’s investment group operates independently of the quartet that proposed the management buyout. Prior to becoming Director Consumer Tyres, Chris Kisby held a number of key positions within the Goodyear group including UK Sales and Marketing Director, European Brand Director and Managing Director for Russia, Belarus and Central Asia, as well as leading the HiQ Retail network.
Since June the US state of Iowa has experienced its worst flooding in 15 years, with rivers throughout the state bursting their banks. To assist affected communities, Firestone Agricultural Tire, itself based in Des Moines, Iowa, BFS Retail & Commercial Operations and Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions have donated US$100,000 to the American Red Cross’ flood relief efforts. The company says the donation, presented in a ceremony on July 18, reflects the combined efforts of Bridgestone Americas Holding and the three aforementioned business units.
“We are always looking for opportunities to give back to the communities where we live and work,” said Ken Allen, vice president, FSAG. “It is rewarding to see how dramatically the quality of life can improve for families with the aid given from the Red Cross. The American Red Cross continues to provide invaluable assistance to those affected by the storms, funded by many who felt as we do about their good work, and we are happy that we were able to help support those efforts.”
Having spent 17 years working for Procter & Gamble in both national and European positions Mark Brickhill became Goodyear Dunlop UK managing director in May 2007. What followed was something of a steep learning curve. Headhunted from a senior management position overseeing laundry products in Geneva, it was only a matter of weeks before he faced the new challenge of tyres. One year on, and set against an impressive global Goodyear recovery, Tyres & Accessories met Mark Brickhill at the company's Tyre Fort headquarters in Birmingham and asked: How is the UK turnaround going?
Arriving at Tyre Fort in Birmingham, the first thing you notice is the still gleaming Norbert Dentressangle logo that now hangs on the adjacent distribution centre (the Goodyear and Dunlop brands on the side of the huge building excepted). Less than a month after his appointment as general manager was made public, Mark Brickhill encountered something of a sea change in the company's newly revamped distribution setup. In January 2006 Goodyear Dunlop decided to hand over the warehousing and delivery control of most its products to a third party logistics company (3PL). The idea was for Goodyear Dunlop and Christian Salvesen (as it was then) to work together to improve efficiencies and costs for everyone involved. To say feelings about this move in general were mixed would be something of an understatement. And to say the service wasn't as good as all the respective parties had hoped for would be similarly wide of the mark.
Goodyear Dunlop’s detractors would have the truck tyre market believe that there are serious problems in the company’s commercial vehicle department. Goodyear Dunlop UK, managing director, Mark Brickhill, however, paints quite a different picture. In a recent interview with Tyres & Accessories (to be published in our August magazine) Brickhill gave details of progress in the truck business. Firstly, Brickhill told T&A that Truck Force is already showing signs of being a turnaround success story.
Since the commercial vehicle retail arm separated from the HiQ passenger retail business, and the two chains were each allowed to follow strategies tuned to the respective business areas, both operations appear to be better off. Perhaps the best sign of this is the fact that Truck Force, which was once a significantly loss making operation, is now at breakeven and on schedule to enter profit in 2009. But this doesn’t tell the whole story. From Mark Brickhill’s point of view, the fact that Truck Force has evolved into a service-led operation has had much to do with its improved performance.
Continental has expanded its retail presence in Canada following the signing of an agreement with Toyota. Both Continental and General branded passenger car and light commercial tyres will be sold through 239 Toyota and 30 Lexus dealerships across Canada.
“This agreement gives Toyota and Lexus customers access to our catalogue of passenger and light truck tyres and helps to increase our retail presence without compromising our existing tyre dealer network,” said Guy Hardiman, General Manager of Continental Tire Canada.
Michelin Training Centre is celebrating delivering its 500,000th hour of high training. The centre, which is close to Michelin’s UK headquarters in Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent, was set up at the start of 2002 and sees an average of over 3,000 people from all over the world come through its doors each year. The modern teaching environment provides both internal and external training on everything from basic time management to tyre related aspects of crash scene investigation.
In addition to the company’s own manufacturing and business staff, Michelin’s Training Centre is used by organisations such as the Police, the MOD and retailers to train staff about tyre design, construction and performance. The amount of training now being held at the Centre is being seen as a good indicator of how important Michelin believes the MTC will be for its ongoing success.
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