For the second consecutive month, Tyrepress.com has achieved record traffic. Indeed, during September 2023, Tyrepress.com recorded 316,411 pageviews – a figure that puts the leading tyre industry news site alongside the biggest websites in the business.
Sgcarmart, purportedly Singapore’s car sales platform, has a new online marketplace, Sgcarmart e-Shop. Available as a new feature on the platform today, automotive suppliers and distributors can now list, price and sell their inventory of car tyres to consumers online.
During the last few years, tyremakers have repeatedly increased prices. The combination of pandemic-related complications, lower car production rates, higher shipping costs as well as higher raw material costs meant that was inevitable. More recently, the situation was compounded by unusually high rates of general inflation driven by increased energy costs that came as the result of war in Ukraine. However, shipping costs are now lower than they were and industry sources report that tyre manufacturers are beginning to change their previously one-way price movement policy. But is that reflected in sell-out pricing? Specifically, what about the stereotypically more price-drive online etail tyre business? Tyres & Accessories got in touch with Encircle Marketing, which specialises in the kind of market research that can answer those questions, in order to find out.
In the last part of our series of analyses of the leading tyre websites in the UK, we turn our attention to the subject of tyre comparison web sites. The leading tyre comparison sites in the UK based on third-party traffic data for June 2023, found that Tyrereviews.com attracted by far the most page views. Congratulations to them for that! WhatTyre.com is second-place.
Following on from our analysis of the leading tyre retail web sites of bricks and mortar businesses, we now turn our attention to tyre e-tail operations. As it did in the retail side of things, Halfords once again tops this table, but with the integrated Halfords Autocentres name out of the equation, this time we were able to break down the component parts and quantify that traffic (see chart and separate breakdown column). That breakdown clearly shows two things: firstly, the scale of the different Halfords online tyre retail operations; and secondly, that Halfords acquisition of Axle Group Holdings/National Tyres brought significant online assets with it.
There’s no denying that the tyre business has become more digital and connected than ever before, but there are a number of sides to that equation. We know that between 60 and 80 per cent of tyre-buying consumers were doing pre-sale research online before the pandemic. Similarly, industry insiders have been saying that 10 per cent of tyres are bought online for something like a decade now. But anecdotal evidence from tyre retailers themselves reveals that, amongst those working for the large chains at least, many customers walk through the door to receive a tyre change that has already been booked online. Apparently, some of the younger generation just walk in and hold up a QR code on their phone! This month’s Tyres & Accessories looked into these kinds of questions, asking what it means for the tyre business to be digitally native. And it starts with a brand-new ranking of the leading tyre retail, e-tail and tyre comparison websites.
Indian online tyre retailer Tyresnmore.com is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ceat Ltd. On 4 August, the tyre maker entered into a share purchase agreement with Tyresnmore Online Private Limited to acquire 108,637 equity shares in the business, an amount equal to a 39.34% of its total share capital.
Made up of 10 regional members, Group Tyre UK Ltd is one of the UK’s largest tyre wholesalers. Group Tyre UK’s strapline is ‘National Strength, Local Service’, words that reflect the company’s business philosophy and its commitment to customers. Group Tyre UK chairman, Gary Oliver, who also acts as managing director for home counties Group Tyre member and tyre distributor, Group Tyre Wholesale Ltd, and IT manager, John Kingman, explained how the company is working to deliver on its promise, an approach that can be summed up in two words: “transformational IT”. And that specifically means the adoption of CAM’s Warehouse Management System, following on from the earlier adoption by fellow group tyre member Magowan’s.
From today, Bridgestone is directly selling passenger vehicle tyres online in its home market of Japan via a new portal, the Bridgestone Online Store. This new tire-onlinestore.bridgestone.co.jp site draws upon the services of Bridgestone’s B-select retail network, which the company launched in Japan last month.
For many, security is all about cash-management, stock-handling and making sure the premises are locked at the end of the day. In addition, tyre businesses have had to get more savvy over the years to avoid fraudulent orders. Now, with everything from phones, tills and even tyres themselves transmitting and receiving data, cyber security is the order of the day. There are lots of different sides to cyber security, so let’s start with some of the most recent most relevant examples to the tyre business.
This article is an example of the editorial comment that introduces every edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine. Not a subscriber? No problem, click here to become one.
Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS), the ERP and business management software provider, has agreed to buy Compilator, which mainly operates in Sweden, Finland and the UK. The acquisition of Compilator is described as a strategic investment for KCS, supporting its strategy of growing into Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Compilator, which itself serves the tyre and distribution sectors in 2,000 locations throughout the Nordics, UK and Ireland, bought UK-based tyre software business Team Systems back in 2016 as well as the fleet-orientated Inforoute operation in 2019.
Repairify has introduced a fully integrated end-to-end software support programme for workshops and garages. The programme enables its IMI-trained technicians to access asTech tools remotely, assisting them with software if they are encountering challenges while using the tools car-side. The new programme is available across its hardware product portfolio, helping technicians to overcome technical issues and complete jobs quicker.
The European Parliament and Member States have come to an agreement relating to the Data Act. The Data Act is legislation designed to make a competitive data market, opening opportunities for data-driven innovation. The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) welcomed the agreement.
TechMan showed its new collaboration with BookMyGarage.com at the company’s recent return to Automechanika Birmingham. In addition, TechMan exhibited its latest updates to its popular garage management system, with the latest integrations including a new advanced tyre search.
During my regular routine of social media maintenance, I came across the following post on the @Tyrepress Twitter feed from Fast Ford, Mini Magazine and Total BMW editor, Daniel Bevis: “I defy you to find a more wretched tyre than a 7-year-old Luckyland Happygalop.” Now, to make it clear, Bevis was very much stating his personal, subjective opinion both in relation to that particularly floridly-named brand’s quality and in his specific choice of adjectives. However, since he raised that especially vocal opinion, there are at least two broader points to be made. Firstly, consumers have never been more empowered to research their purchases pre-sale and then air their views relating to tyres. And secondly, the ongoing proliferation of brands in the market makes the ability to discern quality and understand each brand’s provenance as important as ever.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
Sgcarmart
Rupixen; Unsplash
Luke Chesser; Unsplash
Halfords
CAM
Repairify
Marcus Spiske; Unsplash)
Techman