News from the tyre wholesale sector
US importer and distributor, Orteck International, is suing Shanghai-based Giti Tire (GT) for fraud. In a lawsuit filed in the federal district court in Greenbelt, Orteck claims the GT undertook a scheme to eliminate the company as the exclusive distributor of its tyres in the US.
Group Tyre (UK) Ltd is to exclusively distribute Marangoni passenger car and light truck tyres in the UK mainland. The move will allow Group Tyre to offer the independent sector a European manufactured product with premium brand quality but offering better value for money, the wholesale operation said in an official statement.
“The addition of the Marangoni brand to our portfolio illustrates our commitment to offer our customers a full range of quality brands. We believe that we can develop Marangoni in the UK market to emulate the success it has achieved in the rest of Europe, and that Marangoni will contribute to our continued success in the independent sector,” commented Group Tyre chairman, John Church.
(Akron/Tire Review) Tire Pros/Am-Pac Tire Distributors Inc has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Latham Tire Co and its Autotire Car Care Centers business for an undisclosed amount. The agreement, expected to close shortly, brings the number of Tire Pros’ national retail stores to 300.
For the last 18 months Stapletons has kept pretty quiet about its plans for the UK market and consequently rumours have abounded about the strength of the company’s position. Now, chief executive officer, Kenji Murai has broken silence, announcing efficiency cuts and $25 million of investment designed to set “Stapletons apart from its competitors…into 2006 and beyond.”
On the 11 October Stapletons announced that it plans to close its Dereham tyre distribution centre (TDC), cut around 50 jobs and introduce new stock distribution methods at its Bristol, Coatbridge and Warrington TDCs. Delving deeper, Tyres & Accessories learnt that the cutbacks are the first step in programme that will see the company’s Japanese backers invest a minimum of $25 million over the next three to five years.
From 1 January 2006, Tanvic Tyre Distributors Ltd and We Sell Tyres (Wholesale) Ltd will come together to form The Tanvic Group Ltd. The most significant change will occur when Newark-based TS Wholesale re-brands under the We Sell Tyres (wholesale) name before the end of 2005. Tanvic Spares Ltd will remain a separate company.
Just look at how Ryanair and Easyjet caught the traditional airlines off-guard – that’s just what could happen to your business if you fail to spot an opportunity before one of your competitors does.
Of course, in my line of business, I’m interested in how companies can create opportunities for themselves through their logistics management. It’s easy to look at how supermarkets control their supply chain right back to the farmer in the field, and assume that the same will happen in the automotive sector as well. Certainly, the dominant trend in logistics has been the transfer of control from manufacturer to customer.
When Tyres & Accessories last wrote about the pressures facing wholesalers, the issues pressing the business were not too dissimilar to what there are today. Then raw material price increases at the manufacturer level, not to mention high oil prices, were in danger of effecting wholesale pricing policies. Today oil prices (affecting both raw material and transportation costs) are almost 50 per cent higher, and almost all manufacturers have raised their product prices at least once if not twice this year. In order to get a feeling for how these issues are affecting international wholesalers, T&A spoke to representatives of US company Zisser Tire and Belgium-based Deldo.
Nokian Tyres has purchased US companies University Wholesalers Inc and University Wholesalers in order to strengthen its wholesale and logistics in the strategically important North American winter tyre markets. The purchase agreement was signed 28 of September 2005.
Traditionally Dutch wholesalers can be among the most important business contacts tyre dealers can have. Their reliable feel for trade business is almost expected in Europe, and company news is often news of expansion. This also applies to Tyre Trading International BV (TTI). The Dutch wholesaler based in Numansdorp (south of Rotterdam) is currently building a new on-site warehouse, which will eventually increase TTI’s capacity from 40,000 to 70,000 units. Talking to Tyres & Accessories, owner Peter van’t Hof and his son Dr Peter-Alexander van’t Hof explained the reasons for this expensive step.
“I would like to get rid of the expression ‘controlled distribution’,” one contributor told Tyres & Accessories. And this is because along with this term come some ominous implications – that manufacturers can purposefully steer purchasers towards their own products. Of course, this is said to take place most naturally in a manufacturer owned equity like Michelin’s ATS Euromaster, for example.
However, the concept of ‘controlled distribution’ covers a whole spectrum of different scenarios. These range from the obvious – manufacturer owned entities – to the more subtle influence manufacturers can exert over completely independent wholesalers and dealers. It is seldom as straightforward as one person controlling and another being controlled. ‘Controlled distribution’ does not only refer to the role played out by manufacturer equities alone, but also to a wide spectrum of influence extending as far as the independent wholesaler.
Whether you like it or not, the world is turning more and more into a technological marketplace. And all aspects of business are being affected, including the tyre trade. Here Tyres & Accessories looks at two of the Internet’s best-known names, and asks how their businesses might affect yours.
According to the Office of National Statistics, by the end of 2004, 52 per cent of households in the UK had access to the Internet at home. And by the end of 2005, 99.6 per cent of the UK will have access to broadband if they want it. Furthermore, the Internet was the fastest growing retail sector last year, attracting one in four shoppers.
Sales of exclusive brands are on the up, Belgian wholesale Deldo has reported. According to the company, its Eurowin, Wanli and Sunny brands make all the difference when it comes to winter sales. This year Deldo says it has increased its capacity of Nexen-produced brand Eurowin up to 550,000 tyres. Furthermore the company claims to have sold approximately half a million already, with over 60 per cent being delivered in the last three months. As far as the South China Tire Company-produced Wanli and Sunny brands are concerned, Deldo reports that stocks of Wanli have already sold out, with only five per cent of its Sunny tyres left.
Stapletons Tyre Services has officially appointed a new head of marketing. Andrew Long, 39, joins Stapletons from Winsor and Newton, the market leading art materials brand, where he was marketing director. Prior to that Andrew worked in the white goods sector and also in office products.
Mr Long’s remit encompasses implementing a strategic marketing and communications approach throughout all of Stapletons’ business channels, including retail, wholesale, dealership and commercial & agricultural.
Speaking of his appointment, Mr Long said: “This is an exciting and challenging opportunity to utilise over 17 years of marketing experience in a variety of industries to focus on a strategic marketing approach for Stapletons.”
Dick Johnson, chief executive of Goodyear Dunlop, has been confirmed as the guest speaker at the NTDA’s Tyre Wholesalers annual lunch in November.
The annual meeting will again be held at the Raven Hotel in Droitwich on 23rd November. It will be attended by over 100 members of the Wholesalers Group, tyre manufacturers, retail chain management and the officers of the NTDA.
According to Group Tyre, Maxxis is fast becoming one of the most highly regarded ‘premium budget’ brands in the UK. Chairman, John Church, commented on the development: “In the last two years, we have invested major resources in developing the Maxxis brand in the passenger car, 4 X 4 and light truck sectors, promoting its quality and value-per-mile attributes, which have clearly resonated with trade and retail customers alike. These initiatives have assisted in creating a firm foundation of distribution outlets, for the brand in the UK, and we can confirm that the initiatives will continue, as we look forward to further developing the Maxxis brand.”
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