Tag: Tyre retail
VW and Daimler back heycar used car online marketplace
A new online marketplace for used cars launches in the UK today (15 August). heycar.co.uk is on a mission to bring greater trust and transparency to one of the UK economy’s largest retail sectors. The brand will do this by creating a superior user experience for consumers and dealers, launching with an inventory of over 100,000 listed vehicles from nearly 50 brands across 1,400 dealerships.
Used car market declines as consumers delay purchases
“The decline of -2.8 per cent in used car transactions in the second quarter of 2019 was anticipated due to a number of factors that affected the sector over the past months, but the market remains at high levels”, said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK commenting on the latest SMMT used car figures.
Tire Pros adds 7 branches in USA
In the USA, Tire Pros, a subsidiary of large wholesale operation American Tire Distributors (ATD), has added seven new branches in California, Alabama, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
TyreSafe launches van tyre safety campaign
TyreSafe launched a new van tyre safety campaign at its annual briefing at St George’s Park, home of the National Football Centre, on Thursday 18 July.
Autocar partners with Summit for tyre buying site
Summit and Autocar have partnered to create a tyre-buying website. The website (www.autocar.co.uk/tyres) promises to deliver “excellent value, quality of service and consumer choice to UK motorists”.
TrustFord invests in Quick Lane tyre retail franchise
Quick Lane Tyre & Autocentre has opened a new location in Prestwich following significant investment in the franchise from TrustFord. Could this signal a move further towards tyre retail on the part of Ford?
Ex-Bridgestone Helton to lead TBC’s Midas
Midas, which has more than 2,100 franchised, licensed and company-owned Midas auto shops in 14 countries (including 1,200 in the US and Canada), recently promoted Will Helton to vice president and general manager. Helton joined Midas two years ago from Bridgestone. Prior to the promotion he was division vice president of the Central US and Canada Regions at Midas. At Bridgestone Helton was Region Manager which was the culmination of 16 years with Bridgestone.
Kwik Fit offering ‘Mobile7’ mobile tyre fitting nationwide
Kwik Fit has “significantly expanded” its ‘Mobile7’ mobile tyre fitting operation and is executing plans for “further development in 2019 and beyond”. Kwik Fit launched ‘Mobile7’ inside the M25 in 2016 and has subsequently expanded the service into other regions across the UK. According to the company, ‘Mobile7’ is Kwik Fit’s response to delivering both increased tyre replacement capacity and flexibility. Kwik Fit ‘Mobile7’ runs in addition to the company’s 600-odd bricks and mortar retail units.
Kerr’s Tyres & Auto creates 20 new jobs in £2.5 million investment
Northern Ireland’s Kerr’s Tyres & Auto is investing£2.5 million in a new company HQ, featuring a distribution centre and retail centres. According to the company, the expansion project will create 20 jobs, bringing the total number of employees in the company to over 100.
Kwik Fit Italy hits 51 branches
Kwik Fit has grown into the fourth largest branded tyre retail network in Italy just three years after the chain got underway in Italy. 51 centres now operate under the Kwik Fit brand across the country, with the network most recently adding a well-established operator in San Marino.
FinTyre completes Rs Exclusivreifengrosshandel and Tyrexpert Reifen + Autoservice acquisition
Following the announcement made on 28 December 2018, on 10 May 2019, European FinTyre Distribution (EfTD) announced that it has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of German tyre firms Rs ExclusivReifengrosshandel GmbH and Tyrexpert Reifen+Autoservice GmbH.
Growth and stability amongst leading UK tyre retailers
6 - 10 stability, but battle for ninth position Outside of the top five, there is a certain degree of stability amongst the remaining five companies. Those in sixth, seventh and eighth position (McConechy’s, The Tyre Group and Lodge) appear to have remained stable in terms of branch count, with 61, 58 and 40 branches respectively. However, it is worth considering all this in the context of ULM Services Ltd the fleet-orientated cooperation Universal, Lodge and McConechy’s set up during 2017. Put those three partners together and we have 119 branches and another strong contender for fifth position on the table.
ETEL continues to lead top 20 UK tyre retailers 2019
After years of expansion amongst the top 20 UK tyre retailers, the latest data shows that this trend peaked in 2017/2018 when the top 20 accounted for 2014 branches. The same 20 tyre retailers had 1980 branches between them in 2018/2019. And what’s more, the reorganisation of one retailer alone accounted for a 40-centre decline in branch count, with the overall figure remaining positive due to growth at other chains. Here Tyres & Accessories analyses the branch count data in the context of 10 years of comparable research.
The growing influence of autocentres on tyre retail
In recent years autocentres have been selling more tyres than ever. At the same time, specialist tyre retailers – such as those featured on our annual table, have moved towards additional servicing and mechanical repairs in order to increase sales. This is especially the case at the top of the table, amongst the largest tyre retail chains where as much as 45 per cent of annual turnover is now made up of non-tyre sales.
BestDrive expands across Southern Africa
BestDrive, the franchise tyre retail fitment division of Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA), is one of the fastest-growing networks in Southern Africa. The tyre retailer currently has 149 BestDrive dealers across Southern Africa, located in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.