Tag: wholesale
Grouptyre leads with range of high performance brands
Large investments in research and technology over the last few years have enabled Grouptyre’s exclusive brands to develop some excellent alternatives within the competitive high performance market at realistic and affordable prices. The wholesaler notes that tyre retailers are demanding increased diversity in the high performance market to meet the wide range of consumer demands at all price points.
Inter-Sprint at The Tire Cologne
For Netherlands-based wholesaler Inter-Sprint, The Tire Cologne is the natural successor to the Reifen show that took place in Essen every two years until 2016 – especially when considering projected exhibitor and visitor numbers – and for this reason, being there as an exhibitor is a must.
TBC Corporation acquires Interstate brand marketing rights
Marketing rights to the Interstate tyre brand have been acquired by TBC Corporation this month. This transaction follows the entry of Interstate Tire & Rubber into insolvency late last year. The US-based aftermarket tyre distributor has also appointed Theo de Vries, formerly director marketing and sales at Interstate Tires, its new international sales and marketing manager.
Tyre wholesale: acquisition gives Italy’s Fintyre national coverage
Italian tyre wholesaler Fintyre has acquired its regional rival, La Genovese gomme. The European Fintyre Distribution Ltd company has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the Sardinia-based wholesaler and retailer.
Goodyear, Bridgestone combining aftermarket tyre distribution in the USA
The wholesale tyre distribution networks owned by Goodyear and Bridgestone in the USA are combining to form an operation the two protagonists claim will be “one of the largest tyre distribution joint ventures in the United States.” This 50-50 joint venture, announced yesterday, echoes the arrangement that Michelin and Sumitomo Corporation entered into at the start of the year.
Clearlake Capital acquires Wheel Pros
Aftermarket wheel designer, marketer and distributor Wheel Pros has a new owner. The US-based company, previously the property of Audax Private Equity, has been sold to Clearlake Capital Group for an undisclosed sum. With its acquisition of Wheel Pros Holdings, LLC, Clearlake Capital Group takes on a company that serves over 10,000 retailers through its network of 33 distribution centres in North America and Australia, supplying them a portfolio of 12 proprietary brands and more than 300 custom wheel styles.
Michelin enters African tyre distribution joint venture
A new joint venture has been set up between Michelin and industrial products distributor CFAO for importing and distributing premium and quality segment tyres into Kenya and Uganda. CFAO holds a 51 per cent share in the new entity and Michelin the remaining 49 per cent. The joint venture’s governance is equally divided between CFAO and Michelin.
MTS launches new SRI tyres for 2018
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) has begun 2018 with the launch of new tyre products into its distribution line-up, with plans to grow the product lines throughout the year. As well as a new Falken tyre, the wholesaler will commence the distribution of the Sumitomo brand, as discussed with Tyres & Accessories in December, with the BC100 pattern.
TTI distributing Avon tyre brand in Benelux, north Germany
Avon Tyres has appointed Netherlands-based wholesaler Tyre Trading International (TTI) its distributor for the Benelux markets and for the north of Germany.
Kirkby: Tyre Wholesaler of the Year growing in 2018
After being named Truck & Agricultural Tyre Supplier of The Year in both 2015 and 2016, last year Kirkby Tyres went home from the NTDA Tyre Industry Awards ceremony in October with the trophy for Tyre Wholesaler of the Year. The 2017 award was for Kirkby perhaps the crowning moment in a year that saw its original equipment and OE2 business continue to grow as well as work progress on its warehousing expansion programme. This expansion will be completed during the course of 2018 and is expected to enhance Kirkby’s operations. The wholesaler also anticipates an increase in its OE/OE2 activities and is introducing several other important agricultural products.
STARCO appoints Agriest its aftermarket distributor in France
As of 1 January 2018, Agriest will act as the French market distributor for STARCO’s aftermarket range. This new agreement allows Agriest to offer its customers the STARCO product range, excepting made-to-measure and dual wheels. Agriest will primarily distribute STARCO’s wheel and tyre solutions for tractors, utility vehicles and agricultural implements; wheel and tyre solutions for lawn and garden will be handled by PVP, a subsidiary of the Sterenn & Co group.
Micheldever to supply Sumitomo brand tyres, marks a year since change of ownership
As we go to print on the December issue of Tyres & Accessories, Micheldever Group is marking a year since Sumitomo Rubber Industries, manufacturer of Falken Tyres for which MTS is UK distributor, bought the UK tyre distributor from previous owner Graphite Capital Management. While the sale was not unexpected, the identity of the new owner may have been somewhat surprising, though SRI’s investment in Falken Tyre Europe following the late-2015 dissolution of its alliance agreement with Goodyear makes the acquisition of a leading distributor a logical move. For Micheldever’s board, SRI was said to be an attractive new owner, with the presumption that it would offer offering longevity, stability, and consistency; as a large, well-established, high quality top-six tyre manufacturer seeking to broaden its knowledge of UK distribution with an already successful business.
2017 marks 80 years of growth and innovation at Stapleton’s
This year Stapleton’s celebrates 80 years since Sydney Stapleton set up his business in a simple parade of shops at 195 High Street, Watford in 1937. An entrepreneur of terrific dynamism and foresight, he was among the few to spot and take advantage of the fast-growing market for tyres. A decade on, in the post WWII years, the company’s total weekly wage bill amounted to the princely sum of £20. It’s safe to say in this 80th anniversary year the wage bill’s grown considerably now Stapleton’s employs some 1,100 staff at eight regional sales offices and eleven distribution hubs nationwide. It’s also safe to suggest that Sydney Stapleton would be staggered by the scale of his old business, with a current stock capacity of 1.5 million tyres available at any given time.
Kirkby Tyres’ 80,000sqft central distribution centre expansion nears completion
Kirkby Tyres’ 2017 expansion programme will see its first warehouse completed in December 2017, with the 80,000sqft of new floor space, across nine additional new warehouses, fully operational by March 2018. In total, Kirkby will fit in 2,500 additional tyre racking units, enabling 8.9m high tyre storage facilities. The wholesaler will also add 10 more loading bays to its operation. In order to realise this expansion, Kirkby purchased three acres of land adjacent to its Speke headquarters, allowing it to increase its stock capacity and further improve its logistical operations, and increasing its total footprint to approximately nine acres. Kirkby added that the expansion would require more local personnel to be employed, and enable the company to offer customers a wider range of brands, sizes and applications.
Oak Tyres steps up operations with headquarters development
Setting foot inside the entrance of Oak Tyres’ new Newton-le-Willows headquarters, it is clear that the company has made a conscious decision to present a stride forwards in the professionalism of its operations. Renovations to the previously semi-derelict three floor building were taken on as a special project headed by the company’s Gary Cross around 18 months ago; “almost finished” when Tyres & Accessories visited, a strong, corporate aesthetic has been employed, with colours and imagery from the Oak Group’s own Davanti tyre brand, as well as exclusively distributed lines, such as Landsail, added to Oak’s red and greyscale CI.