News from the tyre wholesale sector
Work is under way on a significant enlargement of Heuver Tyrewholesale’s warehouse capacity. Warehouse space will be increased by 16,000 square metres by the construction of an additional building behind the current premises; this represents growth of 60 per cent. It will be available for use by the start of September.
Italian tyre wholesaler Fintyre has a new owner. Through its Europe IV fund, private equity company Bain Capital has acquired the entire stake controlled by BlueGem Capital Partners. Bain Capital states that it will work together with Fintyre chief executive officer Mauro Pessi and the company’s management in order to further the company’s path of growth towards leadership in the areas of tyre wholesale and retail distribution in Italy in Europe. Existing Fintyre lender Blackstone Group subsidiary GSO Capital Partners will also support the wholesaler’s development plan through a unitranche debt instrument.
Heuver Tyrewholesale has called 2016 a particularly successful one. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the company increased turnover by five per cent over 2015, despite a difficult market with considerable pressure on prices. It also invested in people, online tools and its warehouse to expedite dealing with customer requirements, all of which resulted in what Heuver terms an intensification of customer contact.
Netherlands-based wholesaler Tire Trading International (T.T.I.) has taken a majority shareholding in another Dutch tyre wholesaler, Van Aalderen Twen-Tyre B.V. Reporting the acquisition, T.T.I. states that while Twen-Tyre will continue to operate independently and still offer its highly appreciated four-times-a-day delivery service, it will benefit from the greater buying power that T.T.I. enjoys and gain access to an even larger product range.
In response to a contracting market in 2013 and 2014, Italian wholesale giant Fintyre underwent a reorganisation, involving relocation north from Empoli to Seriate, Bergamo and a staff reduction of 60 employees. The overhaul of the company structure did not end there; it started a process in 2015, completed in late 2016, which has changed the face of Fintyre. This, it states, has consolidated its position as the leader of the Italian market with a share of around 25 per cent. In 2015, British investment firm BlueGem Capital Partners, which at that point held a 90 per cent share in Fintyre after its original 2009 investment, was recapitalised following a major financing agreement with GSO Capital Partners. The company then made two major acquisitions – Pneusmarket and Franco Gomme – which have helped to increase turnover from 255 million in 2014 to an estimate of more than 400 million euros in 2016.
Giti Tire and Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) have signed a renewed three-year exclusive distribution agreement, extending the wholesaler’s UK supply rights for GT Radial and Runway in the passenger car, 4×4 and light truck tyre segments.
The relationship between the companies began in 2010, and under the terms of the deal MTS will continue to develop the GT Radial Performance Centres (GTPCs) whilst simultaneously promoting Runway across its larger independent network.
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS), the exclusive General Tire distributor for England, Scotland and Wales, and the largest General Tire dealer in Europe, has reported record sales of General Car, Van and 4×4 tyres in 2016.
Sales volumes for the General Tire brand in 2016, increased by more than 50 per cent for MTS and the company saw many of its individual General Tire dealers experience record sales of their own.
Germany based tyre trader Andia International has made its range of 30,000 truck, MTP and earthmover commercial tyres available online in a new web shop. The newly online distributor said the retailer can check prices and availability online at any time and “order directly and comfortably around the clock.” Andia International added that online trading is an important step towards working more closely with the customer.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ (SRI) £215 million acquisition of the Micheldever Group from Graphite Capital, including Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS), the UK’s second largest distributor of tyres, “ensures continuity” of the management and multi-segment brand strategy, according to MTS chief executive Duncan Wilkes. The move also extends the trend of tyre manufacturers buying into – or indeed buying back into – retail through the acquisition of the UK’s largest chains. In April 2016, Tyres & Accessories pointed out that Micheldever’s Protyre chain was the largest growing in the annual survey of the market’s retail landscape – a factor that will have informed the purchase – and three of the top five (Michelin’s ATS Euromaster and Goodyear Dunlop’s HiQ franchise chain) are now manufacturer controlled.
Having seen increases in its Iberian customer base, Dutch wholesaler Heuver has made its web-shop available in Spanish. Heuver said the introduction of another translation was a logical step, since it wants to offer the fastest possible access to the whole range and make things as easy as possible for customers.
Starting in November 2016, Cambrian Tyres have begun distribution in the UK of Turkish two-wheel specialist tyre brand, Anlas. Already familiar to many in Europe with a history stretching back 40 years, Anlas manufactures a wide range of tyres from its factory in Duzce, between Istanbul and Ankara. The current Anlas range includes tyre applications for commuters and urban motorcycles; lightweight bikes; classic machines; large adventure motorcycles; and scooters and mopeds. Cambrian says the Anlas range offers riders excellent quality and value for money from a well-established European brand.
Stapleton’s states that it has for several years engaged in expansion, rationalisation and consolidation of its nationwide distribution operation. As a result, the wholesaler says its new regional hubs and larger delivery fleet are yielding advantages for retailer customers. Wholesale director Nigel O’Hara said the company’s “constant focus on our retailers’ individual needs… sets us apart.” The company’s recent efforts have been in translating the benefits of being a national distribution operation to “real competitive benefits” on a local and personal basis.”
As August came to its close, the world’s seventh largest – and South Korea’s biggest – container shipping line, Hanjin Shipping, filed for court receivership, consumed by mounting debt schedules with creditors and increasing industry overcapacity. Hanjin had suffered annual net losses from 2011-2014 – with total debt in June reaching a staggering $5.5billion. While there may be hope on the horizon, (Hyundai Merchant Marine are in talks to acquire Hanjin’s vessels and staff), for the time being, ports in China and the US have denied entry to Hanjin ships and goods cannot be unloaded. Discussions between banks and Hanjin are yet to proffer a solution, though it seems likely that its Asia-United States route and related sales and marketing assets could be on sale by the end of the week in order to raise rehabilitation funds, several news sources have reported.
Grouptyre’s 20th year has been marked by several new developments, including the appointment of Gary Oliver as its new chairman of the board of directors, new warehouse expansions for members, and the continued development of e-Commerce models on the wholesale (GroupLink) and retail (Tyres Online) sides – for more on the latter, see this month’s Online Tyre Business feature.
For Liverpool based wholesaler Kirkby Tyres, 2016 has become something of a landmark year. The company is currently undergoing a major infrastructure development that includes a major Warehouse Management System (WMS), and Kirkby has also made key personnel appointments, including a new director of business development & special projects.
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