Following the announcement made on 28 December 2018, on 10 May 2019, European FinTyre Distribution (EfTD) announced that it has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of German tyre firms Rs ExclusivReifengrosshandel GmbH and Tyrexpert Reifen+Autoservice GmbH.
Outside of the top five, there is a certain degree of stability amongst the remaining five companies. Those in sixth, seventh and eighth position (McConechy’s, The Tyre Group and Lodge) appear to have remained stable in terms of branch count, with 61, 58 and 40 branches respectively. However, it is worth considering all this in the context of ULM Services Ltd the fleet-orientated cooperation Universal, Lodge and McConechy’s set up during 2017. Put those three partners together and we have 119 branches and another strong contender for fifth position on the table.
After years of expansion amongst the top 20 UK tyre retailers, the latest data shows that this trend peaked in 2017/2018 when the top 20 accounted for 2014 branches. The same 20 tyre retailers had 1980 branches between them in 2018/2019. And what’s more, the reorganisation of one retailer alone accounted for a 40-centre decline in branch count, with the overall figure remaining positive due to growth at other chains. Here Tyres & Accessories analyses the branch count data in the context of 10 years of comparable research.
In recent years autocentres have been selling more tyres than ever. At the same time, specialist tyre retailers – such as those featured on our annual table, have moved towards additional servicing and mechanical repairs in order to increase sales. This is especially the case at the top of the table, amongst the largest tyre retail chains where as much as 45 per cent of annual turnover is now made up of non-tyre sales.
BestDrive, the franchise tyre retail fitment division of Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA), is one of the fastest-growing networks in Southern Africa. The tyre retailer currently has 149 BestDrive dealers across Southern Africa, located in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
At the end of March Protyre marked National Apprentice Week by taking on its 100th apprentice. At the same time, the firm announced plans to recruit more female mechanics through its apprenticeship scheme.
Via its Standards Programme, HiQ Tyres and Autocare aims to drive a high level of attention to detail in every aspect of the fast fit and automotive business. In order to verify the standards achieved by its franchisees, the fast-fit network audits all centres and awards top performers accordingly. This year, HiQ has awarded Gold Standards Awards to 47 per cent of its franchise centres throughout the UK.
Soltyre has gained Michelin’s agricultural seal of approval for its new Airdrie dealership, marking a major achievement for the tyre specialist with all three branches now members of the pan-European Michelin Exelagri network.
Michelin Auto Professional (MAP) UK dealers have been told improving the overall experience of their customers is more important than ever, in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Business owners and senior managers from 16 independent dealer groups attended the annual MAP conference in Chichester, for a briefing on a new package of benefits being rolled out to members of Michelin’s advocate dealer programme.
Huw Lewis Tyres has become the first Michelin Auto Professional (MAP) dealer to benefit from bespoke new training. Michelin is delivering custom on-site coaching in a ‘real-world’ environment to help advocate dealers enhance customer offer and boost sales. The new training is available to the MAP network in the UK and Ireland during 2019, with the local Michelin territory business manager working closely with owners to focus training where it can have the biggest impact.
In the US, the YourMechanic interactive platform that delivers mobile repair, maintenance, inspection and reconditioning services directly to millions of consumer, mobility and fleet clients has added goodyear.com to its offering.
ATS Euromaster has Mark Lynch appointed as a new operations director to drive the company’s development in the light vehicle market, following the decision in October 2018 to merge its heavy vehicle business with Tructyre.
After opening its 40th centre in 2018, Kwik-Fit has announced that it now has 44 centres running under the Kwik Fit brand in Italy, exceeding growth forecasts. The company broke through the 10 branch barrier in October 2017. The long-term goal is to reach 200 centres.
South-east UK tyre service provider, Tyreteam has invested in systems supplier CAM’s technology for the first time with its new fitter-force digital tablet technology. The new system is designed to remove back office costs and inaccuracies associated with the manual completion of service work. CAM adds that fitter-force will enable the supplier of commercial, passenger van and industrial to improve its customer service through operational responsiveness.
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has acquired Weeting Tyres, a leading tyre retail company based in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, UK. The company operates four branches as a franchisee in Goodyear’s HiQ autocare network – in Bury St Edmunds, Chelmsford, Ipswich & Kings Lynn – as well as one independent branch in Brandon, Suffolk, which also functions as its head office. The area served by the latter branch is described as having a high value car parc. All sites will become Goodyear’s equity operating under the HiQ brand following the completion of the acquisition.
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