Black Friday has established itself as a fixture in the retail run-up to Christmas here in the UK and in Europe, and even tyre distributors benefit from the associated purchasing euphoria. Heuver Tyrewholesale shares that it sold more tyres in one day than ever before, giving the company a Black Friday that represents the “pinnacle of an upward curve” that began with the sudden, corona-related increase in online orders in March.
Netherlands-based tyre wholesaler Heuver has grown through its acquisition of the Bevri Groep, a wholesaler from Zeewolde in central Netherlands. Heuver will operate the two Bevri businesses, Bevri Banden (Bevri Tyres) and Bevri Wheels, as an independent company within the Heuver Group, retaining a separate corporate identity. The wholesaler says that by combining the strengths of both companies, it can now “offer an even more complete range” of tyres and wheels.
Heuver Tyrewholesale has gone energy neutral. Thanks to the installation of more than 1,600 solar panels on the roof of its facility in Hardenberg, the Netherlands, a project undertaken as part of the expansion of warehousing space up to 43,000 square metres, the wholesaler’s energy is now supplied in-house. Or on-house, to be precise.
According to Bertus Heuver, the construction of a new warehouse facility at Heuver Tyrewholesale’s site in Hardenberg, the Netherlands is “making significant progress.” The director comments that the shape of the 16,000-square metre building is now clearly visible, and adds that the wholesaler has acquired three new forklift trucks in preparation for its completion in September.
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.
Heuver Tyrewholesale has reorganised its large off-road tyre range, introducing an extra tyre category between OTR and agricultural tyres. The wholesaler said the new categorisation is a reaction to shifting user requirements and a wide range of tyre possibilities. The “MPT agro industry” selection applies to tyres that do not fit comfortably in the ‘agricultural’ or ‘OTR’ categories. Heuver said its new category will allow it to improve its range and level of service, while allowing customers to find the tyres they need faster than before.
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.
Last year, Heuver Tyrewholesale announced its intention to place greater emphasis upon the agricultural tyre segment, and backed this statement up with the rollout of the Barkley brand, a range the wholesaler holds distribution rights to throughout all of Europe, including the UK. In response to customer demand, Heuver Tyrewholesale has now expanded the Barkley range through the addition of a new, wider BLA01+ tractor tyre sizes.
Heuver states that it is “ready for maximum attack” following a shift in marketing focus and increase in size to support the company’s ambitious sales plans. The company said it has witnessed an increase in search and ordering activities in its web-shop, leading to a renewed focus on this business area.
Customers in Italy can now access the Heuver Tyrewholesale web shop in their own language. Following the rollout of a Spanish-language version, the Dutch wholesaler has now added Italian as the site’s sixth language option.
Heuver Tyrewholesale has expanded its team for the French market having increased its customer base in the country. The Dutch wholesaler has its own distribution centre in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier (near Lyon), which it says has helped to improve its service and increase business with French customers. Christian Bruder, a native Frenchman, has been added to the team as sales representative. Heuver states his appointment will further implement its geographical market vision, aimed at maximising customer satisfaction.
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.
Increasing sales can create pressure at specific points along a company’s distribution chain, and Heuver Tyrewholesale reports that sales growth over the past year did just that at its warehouse in Hardenberg, the Netherlands. According to the wholesaler, capacity issues “endangered the delivery times promised to customers.” In response, Heuver Tyrewholesale examined the layout of its warehouse, and has installed a tailor-made storage rack that increases warehouse capacity by 3,000 square metres.
Heuver Tyrewholesale reports that the four exhibition days at Reifen 2016 were a “great success” for the company. The Netherlands-based wholesaler placed a strong focus on Aeolus and Barkley at the show – Barkley, still a relatively new brand for Heuver and a Reifen newcomer, gained its own show stand, while the Aeolus tyre range was represented in a large, open exhibition space shared with Heuver.
May 2016’s Reifen show coincides with Heuver’s 50th anniversary; a conjunction that will enable the international wholesaler to mark this significant date in style. Heuver will thus highlight its anniversary over the course of the week from its Hall 2 stand (E42), from which it will also be showcasing Aeolus products, for which it is the exclusive distributor in eight European countries – a fact the company describes as “the icing on the cake.” Heuver added that its many brands for international markets will be represented by account managers from all countries on its stand.
