Paul Alves, president of the Tire Alliance Groupe, presented record-setting results for 2014 to its membership at the group’s annual Spring meeting in Charleston, S.C.
TAG paid out record dividends – $10.4 million in rebates and bonuses – to its members in 2014, according to the group’s president.
Alves stated that the 2014 growth by TAG’s base of large regional retailers and distributors outpaced the industry performance last year. He attributes the group’s gains to the quality and market dominance of its members, as well as the enhancement of the group’s existing preferred vendor programs and the addition of new suppliers programs, according to a statement from the company.
According to the group, during the last two years TAG has grown its tire purchase volume by more than 40%.
“Our growth is not only attributed to the existing members taking on more programs from our product portfolio but also to the addition of key new members and new vendor programs,” Alves said.
In 2014, TAG added two members: Birdsboro, Pa.-based CJ’s Tire Service, which operates 13 retail locations as well as a regional distribution network; and Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Midwest Tire & Muffler, which operates eight retail locations under the TMA Complete Car Care brand and runs a distribution network supported by three warehouses. With the addition of these two members, TAG’s national footprint has increased to over 2,000 national stores, according to the company.
Additionally, TAG has added three new tire programs over the past year. The group signed vendor agreements with Hankook, Vee Rubber and ITA USA (on the Achilles brand).
“The new vendor programs have allowed TAG to offer our membership more variety and the ability to enhance their product portfolio through the group,” Alves said. The group currently has tire programs through Yokohama, Falken, Pirelli, Husky (with the Blacklion brand), Fullrun (with the Autogrip brand) and Giti (with the Runway brand).
TAG currently consists of 17 members spanning the U.S.
