Bridgestone/Firestone UK has renewed its four-year deal to exclusively supply logistics company Hays Logistics UK with new and retreaded tyres. Hays operates a fleet of two thousand vehicles and trailers and the deal is worth around 1 million Pounds a year. Service will be provided by the Truck Point network of independent tyre dealers.
At the end of April the seventh round-table conference concerning tyres and tyre technology organised by the Tip Top Stahlgruber company took place in Munich. This year’s 91 participants came from many, varied backgrounds: There were tyre dealers, retreaders, material suppliers, representatives of associations (ADAC, BRV, DEKRA, TUV etc.), scientists and representatives of the vehicle and tyre manufacturing industries. Some of the highlights of the event included Hans-Jürgen Drechsler, deputy managing director of the BRV (Association of Tyre Traders and Non-Industrial Vulcanisers), speaking about development trends in the German retreading industry, which is characterised by a fall in sales, specially in the passenger car tyre segment, and a consolidation process among the companies in that sector. Furthermore Drechsler gave an overview about the actual status of ECE regulations 108 and 109 and their transformation into national laws. Other topics concerned the efforts in reducing tyre-surface-noise, the wrong tyre pressure as one of the main causes for serious accidents and last but not least the presentation of various non destructive methods of tyre examination. Due to the fact that the organiser of the meeting shortened the list of speakers, there was much more time left for intensive discussions; something which was appreciated by the conference delegates.
Bridgestone/Firestone UK has won the contract for the sole supply of tyres to the BRS commercial vehicle rental fleet. The fleet consists of around 3,000 vehicles, ranging from 3.5 tonnes to 44-tonne tractor units and will now follow a policy of using Bridgestone new and retread tyres. The three-year contract was won against fierce competition and it is the first time that BRS has used a single tyre supplier. The contract will be serviced through Truck Point, the 220-depot organisation of independent tyre dealers established by Bridgestone/Firestone UK.
The BRV invited its members to attend its annual meeting in Weimar, historically one of the most famous cities in Eastern Germany. BRV President Ludwig did not have only good things to talk about, as he believes that margins will fall even further and the tyre trade cannot afford more pressure on margins. He mentioned Michelin and Goodyear as brands sold to car dealers at prices which are unrealistic and, due to the fact that tyre dealers have not been successful in the fast-fit field, President Ludwig urged tyre manufacturers to give tyre dealers better buying prices than car dealers. The association also expressed concern that tyre manufacturers might establish direct selling contacts with big fleets.
Bridgestone, the world’s second largest tyre manufacturer, invited a party of tyre dealers and important customers to the Monaco Grand Prix. And there was reason to celebrate as the first two drivers home were racing in cars shod with Bridgestone tyres. Michelin had to be content with third place, which went to Eddie Irvine. The Bridgestone management is using Formula One events to improve its relationships with important partners, plus involvement in motorsports breeds success – over the past three years brand image and brand awareness have improved significantly in Europe and Latin America. This not only helps to ensure that the ambitious volume targets are met, but has the effect of improving the consumers’ perception of the quality of the brand, which means that they are willing to pay a higher price for the tyres.
Barely two years ago, Bridgestone/Firestone Deutschland GmbH introduced the First Stop System to the German market with the intention of inviting tyre dealers to join this new form of cooperation. Since then, 100 dealers have already joined this system in Germany. And with more than 1,000 partners all over Europe, the system has spread across 16 countries, so far. In Germany, Prignitzer Falas GmbH in Pritzwalk (Brandenburg) is First Stop partner N° 100. With 24 employees serving customers’ needs, this shop is not only successful in selling tyres, but it also deals with passenger cars, agricultural and industrial machinery, as well as selling and renting trailers. Moreover, a driving school is also included. Passenger cars, trucks and tractors each contribute one third of the turnover. This company has been a Bridgestone/Firestone customer since 1993. The First Stop idea is very simple: enhancing their line by the house brand “First Stop”, Bridgestone/Firestone grants exclusive selling rights for this economically-priced tyre to its partners. Thus, both the summer tyre “FST 2000” and the winter tyre “First Stop Winter” were born. Furthermore, the First Stop package also includes a uniform image and individual training programmes, covering technical and business know-how. Dealers who opt for cooperation will be furnished with substantial marketing support, which covers the complete advertising and POS segment, as well as training programmes. As their commitment to the tyre manufacturer, First Stop partners promise to always use up-to-date equipment to cope with the latest tyre technology, to join training programmes regularly and to always offer a proficient and friendly complete service for customers.
“Tomorrow already, today will be yesterday” – there is hardly anything else coming so close to this fact than the internet. Whereas two years ago in Germany, the percentage of people being connected to the internet was around 9 per cent, this figure went up to 16 per cent in the last quarter of 1999 and achieved more than 20 per cent, i.e. 13.4 million online users by the end of March 2000. And, relying on market researchers, the peak is still far away. It is supposed that in Germany another 10 million people will use the internet by the end of the year. Thus, probably the number of people with particular homepages will continue to rise very quickly. Meanwhile, this fact has also got about in the tyre business, which can be underlined by the variety of companies who presented their websites on the REIFEN 2000 in Essen. Would it now be possible – after books, software and music – to download tyres, too? Of course, tyre dealers still have an advantage: there must always be someone for mounting the tyres. For certain reasons tyre dealers do not really want to get to like being in this position, as they often feel to be “degraded to service operators”. In this case, however, they should realize the opportunities of the internet for being able to “distinguish themselves as service operators”, although there is hardly anyone today, who can foresee the development of the tyre dealers’ business over the next five or ten years. Find out more in the November issue of NEUE REIFENZEITUNG.
At the recent conference of the UK National Tyre Dealers Association (NTDA), Chairman of Council Ashley Croft announced that the Rapid-Fit chain of retailers had applied for membership. Rapid-Fit consists of 300+ fast-fit depots, owned by individual Ford car dealers. This will bring the number of centres in NTDA membership to more than 2,000.
The monthly census of the German tyre dealers association BRV showed the following results for May 2000: Compared to May 1999 the turnover of German tyre retailers decreased 0.9%. In the passenger car tyre segment the decrease was 5.4% and retreading business had to face a decrease of 9.6%. Only the light truck and truck tyre segment showed an increase (+ 2.7%).
As the 14th annual meeting of the German tyre dealers association announced, the turnover of passenger car tyres increased 44 p.c. over the previous year. Responsible for this positive development was the winter tyre segment which increased 14.8 p.c. to 17 million pieces. In spring 2000 43 percent of all passenger cars had been equipped with winter tyres. This year the association expects – in contradiction to the positive prognosis – a stagnant market. Reason: the bad results in the passenger car sector during the first months of this year.
The two cooperatives team Reifen-Union/Top Service Team KG (currently about 400 outlets) and Vereinigte ReifenFachhändler GmbH (VRG; currently about 200 outlets) have agreed a far-reaching cooperation on all levels, including the servicing of large customers and fleet management. An important ingredient is the immediate creation of a company called “Team Reifen Partner” GmbH + Co. KG (TRP), which will gradually incorporate both VRG and new companies as members. VRG members will still have to approve this measure officially in a meeting at the end of January. The team group, to date with a membership of 25 regionally successful tyre traders and as such the number one marketing group in the tyre market, will thus embrace also smaller and medium-sized tyre trading companies, whose members have already given their official consent to the plan. The new group based on the team/VRG cooperatives with more than 600 outlets is set to expand its base. An essential precondition for tyre dealers with local and regional operations and aspirations also to serve trans-regional customers, especially fleets and leasing companies, is full geographical coverage throughout Germany. At the same time the new partners want to coordinate their procurement and stocking policy and improve their purchasing terms and conditions.
During its 14th annual meeting, the German tyre dealers association BRV voted for an intensified cooperation with the association of the German passenger car dealers and manufacturers (ZDK). The aim of this cooperation is to increase the political influence and to enlarge the knowledge base. The BRV currently has 1,150 members and the ZDK has 48,000.
Surprisingly, Team and VRG could not come to an agreement in some major topics concerning the co-operation of the two German groups of tyre dealers. As a result VRG ended the consultations for the present.
According to Peter Hülzer, CEO of the German national tyre dealers association BRV, the Exhibition “Tyres 2000” in Essen attracted a total of 15.000 visitors. This is 1,100 visitors fewer than for the ’98 exhibition. The main reasons for this development are reckoned to be the later-than-usual date of the exhibition, the start of the holiday season in some parts of Germany and in a period of very hot weather during the exhibition.
Membership of the German tyre retailers’ association BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur Handwerk) reached record levels in January, when 82 new tyre retailers joined. The association now has 1,115 members with 1,443 outlets, which represents around 73 per cent of the 3,500 tyre dealers in Germany.
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