In light of the news of Halfords acquisition of National Tyres and Iverson Tyres, Tyres & Accessories contacted various National Tyres and Halfords executives for comment on the subjects of branding and branch closures. In response, company spokesperson confirmed that the bulk of Axle Group businesses will be rebranded under the Halfords moniker with one or two exceptions.
Tyre maker Ralson India Ltd, manufacturer of the Ralco tyre brand and a firm that calls itself “India’s fastest growing automotive tyre company,” has entered into an agreement to acquire rights to the Dunlop name in India. The company intends to produce premium Dunlop tyres for the powered two- and three-wheeler segments at its Kot Panech plant in Punjab.
HiQ has started to roll-out enhanced customer experiences across its network of 108 branches following a recent brand re-vamp announced on 18 March 2021. According to the company, the design elements support HiQ’s core values of honesty, value and trust. The modular approach supports multiple retail formats from large to small.
Following the news that it is refreshing its Goodyear halo brand as its UHP and luxury go-to moniker, Goodyear Dunlop UK Ltd has confirmed it will be removing Dunlop from its registered company name and in future will therefore be known just as Goodyear.
Michelin has defended its title as the world’s most valuable tyre brand despite a 9 per cent decrease in brand value to US$7.2 billion, according to the latest report by leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, Brand Finance.
The Brand Finance Global 500 2019 report has listed two tyre brands, Michelin and Bridgestone, in its ranking of the world’s 500 most valuable brands. The top two biggest tyre manufacturers in the world both saw their brand value fall in value this year according to the brand analyst, but hung on to placings in the top 300. Michelin took over from Bridgestone as the world’s most valuable tyre brand in 2018, according to the organisation’s sector-based rankings.
Davanti Tyres has recently entered its second year as a sponsor of the Premier League’s Everton Football Club, and is marking this milestone with an extension of its partnership into the predominant digital version of the Merseyside club’s home ground, Goodison Park. Davanti’s pitch-side advertisements will play prominently when players of the latest edition of the world’s most popular football simulation, FIFA 19, visit Goodison, just as they do at the real ground, rendered in 4K on the latest generation of consoles.
Dayco will use the world stage afforded by Automechanika Frankfurt to present its new corporate branding to a global audience of the industry’s most influential people, including the many technicians who use Dayco’s replacement components. The new branding is consistent across both the company’s original equipment (OE) and aftermarket products. The company states that this is designed to deliver a continuous message of quality and dependability, using modern graphics that support the company’s business ethos and core strengths.
Australian Reader’s Digest has compiled and released its 2018 Most Trusted Brands list, and Bridgestone returns as a top-ten trusted brand. The tyre maker was ranked in tenth place across all trusted brands categories, finishing ahead of Aussie staples such as Vegemite and Aerogard. Bridgestone also claimed the title of ‘Australia’s Most Trusted Tyre Brand’ – a distinction introduced in 2014 – for the fifth consecutive year. Goodyear and Michelin were named as ‘highly recommended’ brands in the tyre category.
Avon Tyres will showcase its three main product lines – passenger car, motorcycle and motorsport tyres – at this month’s The Tire Cologne. The latest and most innovative from the Avon range will be displayed on stand C-070, Hall 6, together with the British brand’s new style and completely redesigned website.
With one industry insider calling ChemChina’s acquisition of Pirelli “a genius move”, it would have been remiss of us not to take the opportunity to spend time with new Aeolus general manager Giovanni Pomati and find out more about how the changes affect the best-known ChemChina brand (Aeolus) and the company’s views on the latest changes in the Chinese marketplace during Tyres & Accessories recent visit to China.
Michelin has taken first place in Tyres & Accessories annual online brand prominence table, conducted in association with analysts NetNames. Following the news that Michelin is the strong online brand in terms of social media equity both in the UK and globally, the French tyre maker is no doubt delight to continue its historically strong showing. However, for the second year in a row, Continental overtook Michelin in terms of brand sentiment. And when you consider that Continental is also Michelin’s main contender in terms of social media equity, it now appears that pole position in the online space is a two horse race between Michelin and Continental. That’s said, at the other end of the spectrum mid-range and economy brands have registered some significant increases in online brand prominence during the last 12 months.
Firestone has continued its partnership with the Barclaycard Arena, making the Birmingham venue’s unsigned area into the Firestone Stage for a second successive year. The stage hosts unsigned artists in the pre-show entertainment arena at selected arena events, exhibiting a wide array of music talent from across the UK to up to 15,800 people.
Bridgestone’s approach to marketing Firestone has seen the world’s largest tyre manufacturer’s second-line brand rise in prominence in European markets, while a rapidly overhauled product range has helped to solidify confidence in both quality and availability. The self-professed youthfulness of the marketing approach to Firestone has seen the brand featured in various live music venues around the continent, while the summer “Firestone Music Tour” of festivals has increased to sponsorship deals with nine premier events in key markets, including Download in the UK. The introduction of the latest tyre in the Firestone range, the Roadhawk for touring and family cars, was timed to coincide with the first festival of the tour, Primavera Sound 2017 in Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum, and the company hosted dealers, automotive journalists, and a cadre of lifestyle writers and bloggers, demonstrating the sustained, relatively novel approach Bridgestone has brought to the brand since what might be termed its reinvigoration in 2014.
Tire Group International, LLC (TGI) has rebranded its Cosmo Tires private label. Details of the new imagery and range are available on the firm’s “completely retooled” website: cosmotires.com.
Halfords Group
HiQ