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.
Toyota has introduced a winter tyre programme, with Yokohama winter tyres supplied by Stapleton’s. Toyota secured its supply of “thousands of winter tyres” earlier this year suitable for most current – and many past – Toyota and Lexus models. Hybrids, in particular, are well catered for, with a healthy supply available for the 17-inch wheels featured on Prius, Auris Hybrid and the Lexus CT 200h. Toyota Centres will supply competitively priced tyres and carry out the changeover for vehicle owners, who can also store their standard set with the Centre until the spring.
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Kwik-Fit Fleet has appointed Martin Towers to lead its 13-strong sales team. The new corporate and national sales director takes on responsibility for managing both sides of Kwik-Fit Fleet’s sales departments, namely corporate account managers, who handle relationships with contract hire and leasing companies, and area sales managers, who manage partnerships with outright purchase fleets.
Stapleton’s managing director Kenji Murai and trading director, Steve Parker, have resigned from their positions as directors of Stapleton’s. Yutaka Kimbara has now been appointed as managing director of the leading tyre wholesale business and take over the leadership of the company with immediate effect. The news followed a board meeting yesterday (26 July 2011), which resulted in Stapleton’s directors communicating “a number of changes to its composition.”
Kwik Fit has announced a 2011 banded pay settlement for 4,400 employees in its 676 UK centres. The settlement provides an increase of 3 per cent for fitting staff on the standard company salary for their grade, affecting the majority of the workforce. All other staff, including managers, supervisors, MOT testers and service technicians, will receive a 2 per cent increase. Kwik Fit said the agreement was reached after amicable discussions with the trade union Unite. The pay increase will be backdated to 1 January 2011.
The Itochu Corporation has sought to re-iterate its position that its Kwik-Fit retail business and its Stapleton’s wholesale operation will be run as “entirely separate entities.” Answering questions raised widely within the market following the appointment of Stapleton’s MD Kenji Murai as Kwik-Fit head, an Itochu representative explained: “Subsequent to the recent departure of Kwik-Fit CEO Ian Fraser, Kenji Murai is temporarily leading both Stapleton’s and Kwik-Fit. This is an interim measure that was forced upon us. We can confirm that the two businesses will continue to be run individually and an announcement regarding the organisational structures of both companies will be made within the coming few weeks.”
Middlesbrough-based North Eastern Tyre and Exhausts (NETE) is conducting an “organisational and structural review” just a couple of months after being bought by Stapleton’s Tyre Services. While local newspapers dramatically reported that “the fate of 360 staff hangs in the balance” and the firm refused to rule out redundancies, one spokesperson told Tyres & Accessories that no decisions have yet been made and the review is focusing on the efficiency of support roles within the newly-acquired company. T&A understands that sales and logistics positions are not currently being looked at.
Wholesaler Stapleton’s offers high performance tyres from premium to budget brands, with the aim of providing a tyre for every car on the market. “With HP tyres, as with every other type, we’re steered by what our customers tell us they want: and that’s the total assurance that we’ve got every fitment imaginable available from stock – and at prices to suit every budget too,” says Stephen Childs, head of marketing & range planning. The wholesaler says it has a “proliferation of excellent products in the mid-range and budget sectors”, showing that high performance… tyres “are no longer the preserve of the wealthy end of the market spectrum”. Stapleton’s argues that it “tacitly acknowledges that quality and performance are for all of its customers at affordable prices and not just for the select few”.
Like London buses, acquisitions come along in threes – or so the string of recent purchases in the UK tyre distribution sector would make it seem. Between the tail-end of February and the very first days of March, it emerged that Stapleton’s Japanese owner Itochu had bought Britain’s largest tyre retailer Kwik-Fit, Stapleton’s had itself bought North Eastern Tyres & Exhausts, while fellow Grouptyre member King David Tyres had been sold to Malvern Tyres. And what’s more, this movement doesn’t look like it has quite finished yet. In February Harris Brothers sold its four branches to Micheldever Tyres Services, bringing the company’s retail depot count to 53 and counting. True, this overview is lumping changes in the wholesale business together with developments in the retail sector, but as history and recent events tell us the two parts of the trade are inextricably linked.
Stapleton’s Tyre Services has officially confirmed that on 28 February 2011 it acquired all the shares of North Eastern Tyre & Exhaust Limited (NETE). However, an official statement issued by the company reported that NETE will continue to trade as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stapleton’s Tyre Services. Stapleton’s representatives said the company intends to complement NETE’s “professional approach to the market and their excellent customer service in order to ensure the future success of both companies.” No further details of the price or the terms have yet been released.
Stapleton’s Tyre Services latest and greatest 100,000 square foot warehouse has been developed to be the leading tyre wholesaler’s UK “super hub.” Positioned near the literal mid-point of England, the new depot is central to the company’s existing warehouses. Previously the largest of these were developed to be Northern and Southern hubs, but now they will be fed by the large Birmingham location, which is coincidently located a stone’s throw away from Goodyear Dunlop’s Tyre Fort in the Erdington area, Birmingham. Tyres & Accessories recently met Ashley Croft, head of Stapleton’s supply chain, for an exclusive first look at the new facility.
The first thing you notice after you arrive inside the Erdington, Birmingham location – which is impossible to miss owing to the largest Stapleton’s signage in the company fixed to the road facing wall outside – is that the new super hub is already stocked with a full-range of about 3500 stock keeping units (SKUs).
Stapleton’s has significantly increased its stock capacity with the company’s official opening of a new 100,000 square foot warehousing facility in Birmingham. The new warehouse, which is reportedly already stocked, is designed to hold over 250,000 tyres. Company representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the site will utilise “the latest technology and picking systems to ensure the best possible efficiency and delivery turnaround, reinforcing Stapleton’s commitment to being a fast, reliable and efficient distributor.”
Stapleton's recently added 22 new vans to add to its delivery fleet. In an investment worth over £600,000, Stapleton’s expanded the fleet with the addition of six Mercedes Benz Sprinter Panel Vans, seven Renault New Master Panel Vans and nine Isuzu 7.5 tonne trucks.
Stapleton’s are amongst the first in the UK to receive Renault’s New Master Panel Van. Liveried with the company’s corporate identity each of these vans will go straight into the company’s ever growing fleet, providing customers with a twice-a-day, same-day or next-day nationwide delivery service.
Stapleton’s Tyre Services has confirmed that it has agreed terms with Pirelli Tyre UK to purchase its CPK Auto Products Ltd business. Asked what the strategic intention behind the firm’s latest acquisition is, Stapleton’s representatives said “Pirelli’s CPK strengthens Stapleton’s position as the UK’s number one tyre distributor” and said the move sees the tyre distribution specialist “expand its trade distribution operation enabling a further improvement in efficiencies and customer service” in an official statement. No details of the terms of the sale have been released.
Commenting on the acquisition, Stapleton’s chief executive, Kenji Murai, said: “We are a growing business and this latest acquisition allows us to further improve our market position. Our aim is to provide excellent value for money alongside great customer service, across all our B2B sectors. This philosophy will be at the heart of everything we do.”
Stapleton’s Tyre Service has agreed terms to buy Pirelli’s CPK tyre wholesale business for an undisclosed sum. A TUPE consultation process commenced with elected representatives of CPK on Monday 26 July. The sale is said to fall within Pirelli UK's strategy to focus on its core business, which does not include tyre retail or wholesale operations.
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