News from the tyre wholesale sector
Best4Tires, the tyre, rim and complete wheel firm previously known as Reifen Gundlach, has entered into a binding agreement to purchase German tyre wholesaler 1a Berlin-Tyre GmbH & Co. KG. Parent company Rivean Capital (formerly Gilde Buy Out Partners) states that this acquisition “represents another important milestone towards Best4Tires’ strategic goal of establishing a market presence throughout Germany.”
American Tire Distributors (ATD) has entered into an agreement to acquire Tires Now, the wholesale tyre distribution business of automotive service and tyre provider Monro, Inc. The transaction brings seven Tires Now facilities across the Southeastern USA, which service more than 3,500 wholesale customer sites annually, into the ATD fold. In addition to servicing these wholesale customers, ATD will now also strengthen its strategic support for the tyre business conducted at more than 1,300 Monro retail outlets.
Jason Clarke has joined retail network ETB’s wholesale department, heading a list of structural changes at the company. The Welsh tyre trade expert has 25 years’ industry experience, including positions at Cooper Avon, United Tyres, Malvern Tyres, and King David Tyres. Other changes at ETB include Dave Isles’ promotion to operations director, overseeing all ETB wholesale warehouses, and sales manager Ashley Harford, who now runs the sales team from the company’s Blackpole office. Finally, Gemma Ivill will shortly take up a role of supporting ETB’s margin improvement plan to help with its continuing and ambitious expansion programme.
Independent tyre distributor EG Wholesale has opened a new warehouse in Newport, Isle of Wight. The company is one of 10 members of leading independent tyre wholesaler Grouptyre. The new EG Wholesale site is located at 44-50 South Street, Newport, PO30 1JG. Managing director Richard Whittemore said, “The central location in Newport is fantastic and allows us to provide a reliable delivery service across the whole island. As well as reliable delivery, we have excellent product availability and competitive pricing, which are encompassed in Grouptyre’s ‘National Strength, Local Service’ philosophy. We also pride ourselves in being a local, independent tyre supplier who delivers the personal touch you would expect from a family business. Our experienced and friendly wholesale team are always on hand to help.”
Tire Group International (TGI) has turned 30 years old, and as part of the year-long celebration of three decades in the business, the US-based tyre and tube supplier is commemorating the clients, team members and friends that helped the company get to where it is today.
The Board of Directors at TireHub, the USA-wide tyre distributor jointly founded by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Bridgestone Americas Inc., has named Ted Becker the company’s chief executive officer, effective immediately. This announcement confirms Becker in a role in which he has served in an interim capacity following the departure of Peter Gibbons from the company in October 2021.
Swedish tyre wholesaler is now the exclusive distributor of the Vredestein range of car, light commercial and classic tyres in Sweden and Finland. Apollo Tyres will end direct sales to retailers of these Vredestein tyre categories as of 1 March 2022 and instead actively support Amring in further building the brand’s market share in these two markets. Apollo Tyres Nordic AB will continue selling Apollo TBR and OHT products directly in all Nordic markets.
RH Claydon will continue its expansion plan with a new 20,000 sq ft depot in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The unit, on the North Farm Industrial Estate will be the company’s seventh, taking its total storage capacity to more than 240,000 sq ft. The depot will be operational from 4 January 2022, opening for collections Monday-Friday between 8:00 and 17:30, and on Saturday mornings 9:00-12:00.
Tyres-N-Parts. This familiar-sounding name belongs to a new B2B digital sales platform aimed at car dealerships and workshops as well as tyre dealers. The Michelin-backed venture is initially launching in Germany and aims to act as an online one-stop-shop for tyres and automotive spare parts. Tyres-N-Parts believes it will become “a model that will define the future of tyre and parts retailing.”
The world of tyres and that of the silver screen seldom cross paths. They notably did so in 2010 when French director Quentin Dupieux brought us Rubber, the tale of an anthropomorphised but troubled tyre named Robert. They cross paths again in 2021, this time via a film jointly written and produced by a major name in the tyre wholesaling sector.
Hindsight is said to be 20/20, yet this isn’t a faculty that helped the tyre industry this year. Early optimism driven by vaccine rollouts quickly turned to despair as sideways-parked container ships, skyrocketing sea freight prices, rising material costs and supply shortages delivered blow after blow. As we enter the final quarter of the year we have a much clearer view of what’s going on, and what we see is that tyres will be pricier in the coming months – assuming we can get our hands on them.
Australian tyre wholesaler National Tyre & Wheel Limited (NTAW) has signed the necessary paperwork for its acquisition of Black Rubber Pty Ltd and Black Rubber Sydney Pty Limited. The transaction, which took place yesterday and is valued at AU$26.3 million (£14.5 million), brings Black Rubber’s import and retreading businesses into the NTAW fold.
American Tire Distributors (ATD), the largest replacement tyre distributor in North America, has published its first Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) report. With its release, ATD commits to “identify opportunities and invest in solutions that are designed to improve its holistic community impact while delivering unmatched customer service to the entire replacement tyre ecosystem.”
Peter Gibbons is stepping down as chief executive officer of TireHub, the US-based tyre distributor jointly founded by Bridgestone Americas and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Ted Becker, TireHub’s vice-president of sales and marketing, will become interim chief executive officer once Gibbons leaves the company in mid-November to pursue a new career opportunity.
Stapleton’s is relaunching Continental group brand Matador onto the market. The UK’s largest tyre wholesaler said it is bringing in a new Matador Customer Key Dealer Programme “designed with forward-thinking initiatives and has retailers at the centre of its strategy.” In the current trading environment, the brand has several advantages, one being the proximity of its production to the UK; all the brand’s car, van and 4×4 tyres are manufactured in Europe. Combined with Conti’s strong European supply chain infrastructure, Stapleton’s makes the point that Matador “has excellent availability with fast shipping into the UK from European factories.”
ETB
Grouptyre