Tag: online tyre business
Halfords buys Tyres on the Drive for £746,000
In October Halfords Group bought troubled online tyre retailer Tyres on the Drive for £746,000, but the company had previously valued the business at as much £150 million.
Tirescanner.com live in 42 US states, multi-million dollar funding close
Less than a year after Tirescanner.com was founded, at the start of November, the business reported that it is live in Florida. This means Tirescanner already covers 1200 postcodes codes, matching consumers with products from a range of hundreds of thousands of tyres and – crucially – connecting them with “the best local retailers”. At the moment this works on a next day install, but the plan is to take this to a same-day level. And more states are said to be coming fast. We’re used to pretty rapid progress when it comes to dotcom start-ups, but such fast growth is more understandable when you consider that Tirescanner is driven by Blackcircles.com founder Mike Welch. Tyres & Accessories recently caught up with Welch in order to find out how the company plans to continue and sustain this growth.
Motokiki enters administration
Lydia Limited, the company behind tyre price comparison site Motokiki, called in the administrators on 24 October 2019. Simon Girling and Chris Marsden of BDO LLP were appointed Joint Administrators on the same day. Tyres & Accessories understands that the administrators are seeking to sell the technology assets of the company and is seeking offers before a Friday 15 November 2019 deadline.
Michelin most searched tyre brand on Google in Europe
Michelin is the most search tyre brand on Google in Europe, according to price comparison site Rezulteo. Rezulteo studied the popularity of tyre brands in Europe using Google search volume data for tyre manufacturers in each country from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. The study took “brand name” + “tyre” queries in the official languages of each European country into account.
No-deal Brexit & European e-commerce
In addition to impacting upon the UK’s automotive industry, a no-deal Brexit presents complications for online tyre and car parts businesses. To gain an insight into changes in customer purchasing habits as Brexit approaches, courier express parcel company DPDgroup tasked market research institute GfK with assessing trends in e-commerce. GfK surveyed 24,258 e-shoppers in 21 European countries on behalf of DPDgroup. What it found was that the payment of additional taxes and duties, as well as longer delivery times, could prove a stumbling block to the future development of cross-border e-commerce in Europe.
The top 8 tyre comparison sites compared
We are all familiar with the likes of MoneySuperMarket, CompareTheMarket and Confused.com. Beginning with financial and insurance products, these sites set out to give consumers more choice and the ability to compare the prices. Owing to the fact that tyres are arguably more complex, the tyre industry has moved a bit slower when it comes to comparison. During the last year or so, however, tyre comparison has come of age. So, who are the main players, what are the differences and where did tyre comparison all begin?
Pirelli regains global social media crown
Pirelli has returned to the top of our global social media ranking after four years away from pole position. The last time the @Pirelli-linked account led the way in Tyrepress’ worldwide meta-metric was in 2015 when the Italian tyre manufacturer well-known for its luxury and supercar marketing won with 84.50 points. Last year, the same score of 84.50 only secured second place for Pirelli. But this time round Pirelli achieved 90.30 with scores over 90 awarded by both Klear and Kred. This marks the first time that any brand has achieved two 90-plus scores in any of our social media rankings since they began eight years ago in 2011.
Is your online shop ready for PSD2?
On 14 September 2019, the EU updated PSD2. Do you know what this means? Is your online shop ready for these new rules?
4JET launches Scannect QR code tyre reader app
4JET has developed a mobile app that provides QR code-based identification for the tyre retailers and manufacturers. The Scannect is available now on the iOS and Android platforms.
TechMan ‘efficiency overhaul’ supports Shaikly Motor Company expansion
Colchester-based Shaikly Motor Company has used garage management specialist TechMan to improve efficiency as the business expands. Established in 1977, the family run business has grown to be the largest independent Bosch car service, MOT and repair centre in Colchester, employing 22 members of staff.
Motor Ombudsman adds distance sales online training course
The Motor Ombudsman has added a new module on distance sales to its Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)-approved online training portfolio. Tailored to the needs of businesses operating in the motor industry, it joins the existing suite of web-based courses on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Bridgestone renames TomTom Telematics Webfleet Solutions
Bridgestone Europe (Bridgestone) will rename TomTom Telematics as Webfleet Solutions on 1 October 2019, following its acquisition of the company on 1 April. The tyre giant revealed that the EMEA business currently serves more than 1.2 million vehicles with mobility subscriptions and fleet solutions.
SimpleTire the fastest-growing automotive company in US
US-based tyre e-tailer SimpleTire has been named the fastest-growing automotive company in America by Inc. Magazine. A recent SimpleTire innovation was how it expanded its installation programme so consumers can receive a “white glove” installation at a flat rate.
Bond International to supply tyres to ClickMechanic network
Online car repair marketplace, ClickMechanic.com has added tyre replacements to its service offering, partnering with wholesaler Bond International. The website states that the new addition will enable both existing mechanics as well as new tyre specialists to register their services on the site. Bond will supply tyres to the site’s network at what ClickMechanic describes as “an extremely competitive trade price,” based on high volumes promised by the site.
Delticom reports stable profits for H1 2019
Delticom AG has managed to maintain its gross profit level in the first half of the year despite a slight decrease in sales compared with the prior-year period. Revenues amounted to 285 million euros in the six months to 30 June 2019, 2.1 per cent less year-on-year. Gross profit was 76.9 million euros, nearly unchanged compared to the previous year; stable profits and lower sales meant that the gross margin slightly grew to 21.9 per cent (H1 2018: 21.7%).