For the last 11 years Tyres & Accessories’ annual UK retail ranking has consistently shown that the top 20 tyre retailers account for around 2000 branches between then. When you consider that there are something like 10,000 tyre points of sale in the UK, this means that these top firms occupy something like 20 per cent of the business between them. The remaining 80 per cent, however, is spread out amongst thousands of businesses with single-shop or small chain operations. It is not uncommon for individual smaller dealers from this overwhelming majority to feel underappreciated by their manufacturer and wholesaler suppliers who – they think – favour the larger chains. Tyres & Accessories recently met up with Stone Tyres founder John Stone and found out how he and around 100 other shops are working to redress the balance.