News from the tyre wholesale sector
"The sudden price hike in both Brent crude oil and UK wholesale fuel prices has thankfully receded as the likelihood of US and UK intervention in Syria subsides. This once again demonstrates the volatility of the UK's road fuels market as traders and speculators cause instability in prices" said Brian Madderson, of the Petrol Retailers' Association, commenting on the latest inflation figures.
Micheldever Tyre Services has appointed Lorna Craig as the company’s new Kumho brand manager. Craig was previously charged with the development of Micheldever’s business and brands in Scotland where she was an area sales manager. Wholesale sales director Alan Baldwin stated the company’s delight in her appointment, saying her previous experience had “made her the perfect choice for what is one of the most important roles within the MTS business.” Micheldever says it is Europe’s largest distributor of Kumho tyres, evincing the importance of Craig’s new position.
Lassa Tyres has renewed its advertisement arrangement with England's Premier League for a further one-year period. Under the terms of the partnership, the Lassa Tyres brand will continue to feature on pitch-side LED advertising boards during 21 upcoming Premier League fixtures.
Liverpool’s Kirkby Tyres continues to promote Double Coin truck and bus radial tyres, having been sole UK and Ireland importer for more than 20 years. This year the wholesaler made the Chinese manufactured brand the focal point of its presence at the Birmingham NEC’s Commercial Vehicles Show, and Kirkby is convinced that it was “an overwhelming success” for Double Coin.
Grouptyre is introducing the Online Tyre Catalogue (OTC) from CAM Systems to enhance its product data and stock management function and help deliver additional accuracy to its sales processes for the benefit of its many customers nationally.
Stapleton's (Tyre Services) Ltd has teamed up with Giti Tire to launch a consumer competition featuring the exclusive Giti brand Primewell.
Any customer who buys a pair of Primewell tyres from a participating key dealer and answers a tyre safety question will be entered into a prize draw to win a new Citroen DS3 Sport, fitted with Primewell Sport 910 tyres.
The Petrol Retailers' Association (PRA), representing the UK’s independent forecourt retailers, has warned that fuel prices are set to rise as conflict in the Middle East continues. The ongoing geo-political tensions have prompted speculation by traders which has in turn forced the price of Brent Crude oil to a six month high of US$115.65/barrel.
The UK, along with Italy, served as the pilot market for Kumho’s new dealer programme. Since its rollout here a number of years ago, the Ecsta Performance Centre network has grown to include around 400 tyre retailers, while its Italian counterpart, the Kumho Platinum Club, contains some 300 dealers. The Korean firm is now launching equivalent dealer networks in other European markets; our sister publication Neue Reifenzeitung reports on the Kumho Platinum Club’s rollout in Germany.
"Fuel prices are expected to increase throughout the UK as external factors have a great impact on the price of crude oil" said Brian Madderson, Petrol Retailers' Association Chairman. The civil unrest in Syria and Egypt, the reduction by one third in Libya's oil exports and the demand for oil slowly returning to some Asian markets have all had an impact on crude oil prices. The cost of Brent pushed through the critical $110/barrel level last week which equates to a 10 per cent increase since the end of June.
On 14 August, Toyo Tire & Rubber, along with its North American subsidiary Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas and its affiliates, filed a formal complaint before the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) against 22 manufacturers, importers, and sellers of passenger and light truck tyres.
Continental Tyres has renewed its contract with Norbert Dentressangle for a further five years, including “a significant extension” to the scope of the operation. In addition to acting as Continental’s UK and Ireland National Distribution Centre (NDC), under the new contract, Norbert Dentressangle’s site at Rugby will also act as a consolidation point for orders which were previously delivered as full loads direct from Continental’s European manufacturing plants to major wholesale customers in the UK.
April's Tyres & Accessories is now available to online subscribers via our e-paper format. This issue contained features on wholesaling, wheels and previewed May's Autopromotec exhibition.
Preliminary figures published by online tyre retailer Delticom show improved performance in what the company calls a “challenging market environment.” During the first half of the year, the company achieved revenues of €212.2 million, up 9.8 per cent year-on-year. During the April to June quarter, Delticom’s revenues amounted to €130.9 million, a 21.5 per cent year-on-year increase. Against the market trend, second quarter revenues in the company’s core E-Commerce division rose 24.0 per cent year-on-year to €128.9 million; division revenues in the first half of 2013 were €206.4 million, an increase of 11.6 per cent.
The Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) fully supports Robert Halfon MP's campaign and petition for a full Office of Fair Trading (OFT) enquiry into Oil Pricing Process. The PRA submitted a formal complaint in February 2012 to the OFT regarding competition in the market for retail road fuels. Its call for a full UK Market Study was supported by many other trade associations and the cross-party group of MPs led by Robert Halfon.
"The unexpected crash in the exchange rate for the Pound for the US Dollar, from US$1.58 to 1.48, in just four weeks from mid-June is hitting wholesale fuel costs", said Brian Madderson, Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) chairman.
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