News from the tyre wholesale sector
Almost a year after Jürgen Titz announced his departure from Goodyear after more than 22 years of service, he is back in the tyre industry. The experienced manager, who most recently served as Goodyear’s managing director consumer Europe Central and chairman of Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany, has now taken on a partnership role within the tyre trade.
Goodyear and De Klok Banden have reached an agreement to increase the Dutch wholesale group’s control over parallel imports, also known as “grey market” tyres. In a statement delivered exclusively to Tyrepress.com and its sister websites in the EU, Goodyear affirmed its resolve to tackle “illegal (grey) tyre imports” using “legal actions”. The manufacturer says it has already taken legal action against a number of European market distributors. It asserts its right to control imports to the European Union from external markets, including, as of 1 January 2021, the UK under trademark or other legal rights. The full statement reads: “Goodyear announced today that it has reached an agreement with De Klok Banden B.V., S & H Tires B.V and their affiliated companies to resolve a parallel import case between the two groups. The agreement resolves the pending trademark infringement claim initiated in Q3 2020 by Goodyear following seizure of tyres often referred to as grey market imports.
Netherlands-based tyre wholesaler Heuver is now a European distributor for the Xlite range of aluminium truck wheels. These wrought aluminium truck wheels, produced in accordance with TÜV and ISO9001 norms, are stronger yet 40 per cent lighter than a standard steel equivalent.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has approved Global Automotive Investments Holding BV’s acquisition of PBG BV (Pon Tyre Group). The ACM reached its decision on 10 March after determining that the wholesale tyre market will remain sufficiently competitive following the takeover.
Spring is on its way, and independent tyre distribution firm Vimexa says it has a wide range of products available to customers. Managing director Rutger Veerman confirms that a number of brands are available, and as 85 per cent of the tyres that Vimexa supplies are premium products, import uncertainties won’t be an issue. But options also exist for customers shopping for budget tyres.
At the start of this year, independent tyre distribution specialist Vimexa expanded its offices at the Technopolis facility near Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Managing director Rutger Veerman says more office space was needed to accommodate the “substantial” growth that Vimexa has enjoyed in Scandinavia and the Baltic region during the last three years.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) announced today that Global Automotive Investments Holding BV, parent company of major tyre wholesalers Inter-Sprint and Van den Ban, intends to acquire PBG BV (Pon Tyre Group), the company that previously distributed the Continental tyre brand in the Netherlands. Global Automotive and current PBG owner Pon Holdings requested permission for the transaction on 29 January.
Micheldever Tyre Service’s wholesale team covered almost 2000km by foot and bike in raising £11,000 for men’s health charities in November. The 28-strong team is sending the funs to organisations involved in providing support and raising awareness for prostate and testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. Various team members also sported newly grown moustaches for “Movember”. Readers can find the MTS team fundraising page here.
Black Friday has established itself as a fixture in the retail run-up to Christmas here in the UK and in Europe, and even tyre distributors benefit from the associated purchasing euphoria. Heuver Tyrewholesale shares that it sold more tyres in one day than ever before, giving the company a Black Friday that represents the “pinnacle of an upward curve” that began with the sudden, corona-related increase in online orders in March.
RH Claydon has today become the exclusive UK distributor of Triangle truck and bus and off the road tyres. The change of distributor for the brand follows Tym International’s decision to cease trading on 30 October. The specialist tyre importer-wholesaler, in which Triangle took a strategic holding in 2013, announced its liquidation in early September. Tym’s managing director, Steve Eke, has since been appointed UK & Ireland sales director of Triangle Tyre Europe. The Chinese tyre manufacturer, among the country’s top five according to Tyrepress data, set up a new European team headquartered in Milan in 2017 under general manager Corrado Moglia. Commencing its distributorship, RH Claydon stated that it looks forward to building a strong relationship with the brand.
Oak Tyres is marking 40 years in business – and of consecutive years of “sales growth” in 2020. The independently owned company, which is a founder member of Grouptyre, says that its sustained progress is down to its service-led philosophy: “If we provide a better service than our competitor, great things will happen” – its guiding statement since its establishment in 1980. Today, Oak has become one of the largest independent tyre wholesalers in the UK. It has more than 500,000 sq ft of warehouse space across its Haydock, St Helens, Manchester, Leeds and Tyne and Wear sites. In the last decade in particular, Oak’s distribution of two successful brands from the Far East – Landsail and Evergreen, both exclusively distributed – has supported impressive market penetration for both. Since 2015, Oak has established its own global private tyre brand, Davanti, which at the last count is present in more than 60 countries.
There have been serious challenges to tyre distribution in 2020, and while demand has returned with the end of the national lockdown, Covid-19’s autumn rise means the spectre of spring’s market conditions looms over the winter months. This year, companies have needed to manage the operational problems posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns throughout Europe; they also needed to weigh up wildly fluctuating supply and demand. Whether there is a return to a concerted national effort similar to the UK’s actions in April and May or not, the lessons learned during this period continue to prove relevant. Meanwhile, the sector was already experiencing difficult times prior to the outbreak, with European tyre market demand flat overall in the light vehicle sector – a situation that certainly deteriorated in the pandemic. For the October magazine’s wholesale feature, Tyres & Accessories spoke to a range of players in the wholesale sector in Western Europe to look at the lessons of this year, and how recovery is progressing. We start with Micheldever Tyre Services, a leading UK player in the light vehicle tyre market especially, which has experienced a “strong” return of demand in the second half of the year, according to wholesale director Graham Mitchell.
While the challenges of the pandemic to the light vehicle markets are familiar due to the day-to-day experiences of people around Europe, commercial, industrial and agricultural markets experienced different levels of lockdown, as many companies in these sectors worked hard to reinforce supply chains. In the tyre wholesale sector, this meant distributors of products and services to these segments needed to stay strong to supply the rubber that kept countries rolling. Michael Rosenthal, marketing director of the UK and Ireland’s largest and most comprehensive distributor of off-highway tyre and wheel solutions, Kirkby Tyres, told Tyres & Accessories about the latest news from the Speke-based wholesaler.
With its AU$48.7 million (£26.7 million) acquisition of Tyres 4U assets in Australia and New Zealand, National Tyre & Wheel becomes one of the region’s largest tyre wholesalers and the largest independent, multi-branded wholesaler in both countries. The transaction was finalised in August and more than doubles National’s distribution centre footprint in the two countries, with its nine company-owned and four third-party facilities complemented by 11 Tyres 4U centres in Australia and three in New Zealand. Combined tyre volume for the Australian financial year ending 30 June 2020 exceeded 2.5 million units, with a revenue of $450 million (£247 million).
Goodyear
Tyrepress.com / Stephen Goodchild
Triangle
Oak Tyres
MTS
Kirkby Tyres