DHL To Sponsor NTDA Dinner
DHL Automotive, the logistics expert which has many clients within the tyre industry, has become a joint sponsor for the forthcoming NTDA Annual Dinner and TAFF Awards which is being held in Manchester next month.
News from the tyre wholesale sector
Tag Archive for: wholesale
Federal and Grouptyre Launch Red Letter Day Promotion
News, PremiumGrouptyre has teamed up with Federal – the value brand for which the independent wholesaler has exclusive distribution rights in the UK – to launch a national promotion, which promises a Red Letter Day for six lucky retailers.
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Delticom Revenues 14.5% Improved in First Half 2009
NewsDespite an increase in revenues during the first half of 2009, Delticom CFO Frank Schuhardt retains a cautious outlook towards the company’s full-year performance. "Consumers across Europe are going to feel the effects of the crisis over the coming months,” he commented. “This is bound to have an impact on the tyre trade. Consequently, we should not assume that Delticom will be as profitable in the second half of the year as it was in the first half."
NE Wholesale Pushing Ahead with Strategic Plan
NewsMany would reasonably argue that our country’s economic system has recently taken a blow to the head, but during this time when the “credit crunch” is complicating our lives, NE Wholesale is seizing the opportunity to distibguish itself from the majority of the tyre distribution market. As companies prepare to “cut costs” and customers are “clinching their belts”, NE Wholesale says it is remaining committed to its three-year strategic plan.
Reports: Axle Group Recorded £3.2 million Operating Loss in 2008
Product NewsAxle Group Holdings reported an operating loss of £3.2 million in 2008, compared with operating profit of £4.2 million in 2007. However, sales from Axle’s National Tyres & Autocare retail chain and its Viking tyre wholesale business grew 13.4 per cent to £153 million. According to the Herald newspaper, Axle Group generated a £3.8 million profit on the sale of properties to another company controlled by chief executive Alan Revie and this is believed to have helped the company achieve a pre-tax profit of £3 million in 2008, down from £5.2m in 2007. The pre-tax profits came off the back of gross profits of £60.5 million in the 2008 (39.5 per cent of sales in 2008). However in 2007, Axle Group made a gross profit of £56.7 million, or 42 per cent of sales.
15 months ago Alan Revie unveiled plans to inject £12 million into the National chain and increase its UK estate from around 200 branches to 320 over five years. However, according to the Herald’s report, the head of the National Tyres auto repair chain appears to have enjoyed a 400 per cent increase in pay in the past year. The newspaper points out that accounts for Axle Group Holdings, which owns National Tyres, show the total emoluments of the highest paid director, soared to £2,126,000 in 2008, from £540,000 in the preceding year. The total boardroom payroll jumped to £4,057,000, up from £1,335,000 in 2007.
Maxxis Rewards Top PCR Tyre Retailers
Product NewsMaxxis has completed its second Maxxis Rewards prize draw, giving 13 tyre retailers £500 worth of gift vouchers from either Marks & Spencer, Thomas Cook or High Street Gift Vouchers, which they can spend at more than 18,000 stores across the UK, including Boots, HMV, Debenhams, Waterstone’s, M&S, House of Fraser, Carphone Warehouse and Threshers. Under the terms of the Maxxis Rewards initiative, the more Maxxis car, van and 4×4 tyres that accredited retailers purchase during the promotional period, the greater their chances of winning a major prize.
The Maxxis Rewards dealer support programme has been organised in conjunction with Grouptyre, the exclusive Maxxis distributor in the UK. Dealers who sign up are automatically entered into the quarterly prize draws, which run until 11 December. Based on their purchase levels, retailers also have the opportunity to earn Argos vouchers and Maxxis-branded promotional clothing and accessories.
The winning tyre dealers and Grouptyre members who supply them are:
Auchinlea Tyres (dealer) – Cooper Bros. (Grouptyre member)
Baker Tyres – Broadway Tyres
Baldonrie Garage – Kenway Tyres
Carmarthenshire Tyre Services Ltd – King David Tyres
DIY Motorist Centre – WJ Wood & Son
Holderness Tyre Services Ltd – BAB Distribution
Hometyre Services – Car Tyrestore
Homend Tyres – ETB
K&M UK Ltd – EG Wholesale
Leeds Commercial Vehicles – NE Wholesale
Lurgan Tyre Company – MT Wholesale
Tyre Care Ltd T/A Havers Tyres – We Sell Tyres (Wholesale)
Wheels ‘n’ Tyres – Oak Tyres
Bandvulc Enters New Tyre Market
Product NewsThe Bandvulc Group has entered the new tyre market by becoming the leading stockist of the Fulda range of commercial tyres in the UK. Covering sizes from 17.5 to 22.5-inch, Bandvulc will wholesale and distribute the Fulda brand alongside its own products and the recently agreed small order Goodyear/Dunlop arrangements.
TIA Announces Candidates for 2009 Board Election
Product NewsThe Maryland, US based Tire Industry Association (TIA) has announced the slate of candidates for its 2009 Board of Directors election. TIA members will vote in open elections to place ten individuals onto the board for three-year terms. Members will receive ballots in the mail before the end of July, and can also download a ballot from the ‘members only’ section of the TIA website (www.tireindustry.org).
Falken Dealers Visit Germany
Product NewsThree dozen Falken customers from all over Europe recently visited the world famous Nurburgring race track in Germany. The Falken customers from the UK were hosted by Micheldever Tyres, Falken’s sole supplier in the UK, at one of the continent’s most prestigious motorsport events, the annual 24 hour ADAC endurance race. Falken tyres were one of the main sponsors of this year’s event with the company’s branding prominently positioned around the 13 kilometre race track, on every car and on in-car television coverage.
The Falken car, a Nissan 350Z eventually finished in 11th place and was the first non-German produced car to complete this arduous event. The customers themselves were treated to five-star hospitality and entertainment throughout the duration of the four-day trip, culminating in a ride with the European Drift car Champions.
Conti Promotes ContiCostCalculator at Crewe Roadshow Leg
Product NewsContinental is spending this week in the grounds of the resplendent Crewe Hall in Cheshire with its European roadshow, promoting the new iteration of its long-haul and regional commercial vehicle tyres (see June’s edition of Tyres & Accessories – soon to arrive at subscribers’ addresses – and Tyrepress.com for more on last month’s launch). The pan-European tour will see Continental’s truck pitch its inflatable display tent in locations including Helsinki, Madrid, Bucharest and most countries in-between. As much as T&A would have liked to take the opportunity to see the display in one of Europe’s cultural capitals, Crewe presented a rather more convenient opportunity to see the interactive displays with which Conti is introducing its series two tyres alongside the innovative ContiCostCalculator, which promises to aid fleet managers in seeing detailed cost comparisons, certified by independent testing organisation Dekra.
Kumho Breaks the Million Tyre Mark in UK
Product NewsKumho broke the one million tyre barrier in 2008. According to sole distributor Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS), it was the first time that annual sales of Kumho-branded car, van and 4×4 tyres have reached this height. Wholesale director, Alan Baldwin, said he was delighted with the news and added that MTS’s sales grew 30 per cent over its full year 2007 result:
“Throughout 2008 MTS and Kumho worked tirelessly to improve supply, and by a combination of better forecasting and supply chain management, product availability improved dramatically over 2007.” According to Baldwin things got even better for MTS and Kumho in the early stages of this year: “2009 has presented further challenges particularly, when as in March, the huge increases dealers were seeing in consumer demand resulted in a near 40 per cent increase over March 2008 sales.”
Delticom Reports Improved Q1 Profits
Product NewsDuring the opening quarter of the current fiscal year Delticom AG enjoyed a more than 300 per cent increase in year-on-year net income, up from 0.5 million euros to 1.9 million. This growth came on the back of a 19.8 per cent increase in sales to 51 million euros. These revenues are divided up into 46.7 million euros for the company’s eCommerce segment – an increase of 21.4 per cent – and 4.3 million euros for the Wholesale segment. EBIT rose from 0.5 million euros to 2.6 million year-on-year, with a quarterly EBIT margin of 5.2 per cent.
Bush Tyres Opens New Bourne Retail Branch
Product NewsBA Bush & Son and its wholesale operation B.A.B. Distribution (a member of the wholesale group Grouptyre) has invested in a new retail facility. At a time when many businesses are contracting, the family concern, which this year marks 60 years in business, is celebrating by opening its 14th tyre retail depot in Bourne, Lincolnshire, at the end of April. The expansion is set to continue in July/August when the company is scheduled to open a new, purpose-built tyre retail centre in Spalding. According to company representatives, branch number 15 is “absolutely state of the art” and even has its own bridge.
“We always aim to reinvest profits in the company and are taking advantage of economic conditions to implement an aggressive growth strategy designed to increase our market share throughout Lincolnshire, Humberside and East Yorkshire by providing unrivalled levels of customer service,” said director Tom Bush, adding: “For many years we have met the needs of customers in Bourne from our Boston and Sleaford branches, so it was logical to develop a stand alone facility, albeit linked to and fully integrated within our retail operation, which would enable us to provide a more comprehensive and better quality of service to customers in this area.”
Bond International Developing a Stronger Foothold in Asia
Career TracksAs a major importer of far eastern manufactured tyres, Bond International’s presence at Tyrexpo Asia was significant. The company, which has been established for more than forty years, has acquired during its time in the business vast experience in the import and export of tyres to and from the UK. Today Bond International can provide unrivalled delivery service thanks to its four warehouses and stock level of over 600,000 tyres. As well as distributing all leading premium brand tyres the company is also the agent for Marshal, Admiral, Infinity, Sumo, Firenza, Rotalla and Gerutti.
Boto Tyre to Build New Passenger Car Radial Factory
NewsShandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd., has revealed plans to build a passenger car production facility nearby its existing tyre manufacturing complex in China. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories company representatives explained how, despite the ongoing economic downturn, Boto Tyre's board and shareholders are confident that they can sell the up to 15 million passenger car radials the new plant is scheduled to produce. Around 1 billion yuan is believed to have been earmarked for the expansion and building work is set to begin in June, with the construction project expected to conclude by the end of the year. As vice director of international trade development, Rainbow Zhao told T&A “building projects don't take very long in China.”
