The suggestion that the UK tyre distribution space is ripe for consolidation is not new. But during the single week that we went to press with the latest edition at the start of October, three big tyre retail announcements were made. First Stop broke through the 150-branch barrier. Point S announced that its buying group of independent tyre retailers now numbers 300. And Halfords bought Lodge Tyres for just over £37 million.
US-based Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 5000” list of top American private companies has named SimpleTire as the fastest-growing automotive brand in America. It was also described as the second fastest-growing retailer in Philadelphia.
Major organizational changes have been announced by Cimcorp. the robotic gantry-based and tire-handling solutions supplier. Three senior executives have been appointed to Cimcorp’s Group Executive Management, two sales units have been merged and a more highly integrated software department has been formed. Masatoshi Wakabayashi, CEO, Cimcorp, says, “The changes have been made in response to […]
At Nokian Tyres’ Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts in Helsinki, Finland, president and CEO Ari Lehtoranta expressed confidence that the company has started its “journey back to profitable growth.” Focusing on Nokian’s strategy and financial targets, the manufacturer also made no changes to its previous guidance for 2015; the company’s results have shown contraction throughout the year.
Despite other whole market figures saying the UK annual passenger car tyre replacement demand fell back during 2014 (Gfk) or was stable (Continental), Maxxis reports that the last 12 months actually represented examples of “good growth”. While not exclusively for this reason, this is likely to be a result of the company’s successful growth of its fitting network – not to mention increases in OE sales and product development and strategic sponsorship.
On the back of an expanding original equipment portfolio and higher ultra-high performance tyre sales Hankook Tire has reported increased operating profits and sales in its third quarter, reversing a year-long downward trend. The manufacturer has global sales revenues of 1,250 million euros (KRW 1.72 trillion), with operating profit of 208 million euros (KRW 276 billion).
At its Investor Day, held in New York on 15 May, Cooper Tire & Rubber outlined the measures it will implement to support the company’s goal of sustained annual operating profit in the eight to ten per cent range and, over the long term, operating profit above ten per cent plus annual net sales in the vicinity of US$5 billion to $6 billion.
The state of various European economies varies significantly, there are signs that the tyre markets are picking up and – if some of the large tyre makers’ recent financial reports are anything to go by – premium tyre sales are what are needed to turn green shoots into green backs.
