Meet the 2015 Tire Review Platinum Performers - Tire Review Magazine

Meet the 2015 Tire Review Platinum Performers

It is always exciting and instructive to be in a tire dealership and watch it in action. The conversations, the customers, the equipment, the movement and process…small businesses are themselves an organism that lives and grows because of those actions and flourishes on the results.

Rarely do we consider a tire dealership as a set of numbers, as measures of the physical, financial and philosophical aspects of such a business.

The massive amounts of data obtained in the 2015 Tire Review Tire Industry Benchmarking Study – our second annual research study – gave us not only a clearer understanding of how a tire dealer functions, but also the success of its planning and execution. And we can look at what elements are most important, and what really separates the top tire dealers from all others.

Those that stand out from the pack are our 2015 Platinum Performers.

To uncover the top performing dealers, certain questions in the Tire Industry Benchmarking Study were scored on a 1 to 4 scale, with 4 being the top score possible for each graded question. Scores were awarded based on responses to questions dealing with building/equipment, sales, operations, marketing and personnel.

A perfect score was 156, and just like last year no single dealer even came close. The highest score among this group of 10 businesses was 119.8, up from last year’s best of 118.6. These 10 top dealers were consistent; the lowest score posted among them was 102.8.

Some of the trends the top dealers surprised us, some really did not. The goal of this entire exercise – from the Benchmarking Study through the Platinum Performers Awards – is to focus on the real metrics today’s tire dealers face, and help readers see opportunities for their own improvement.

2015 Platinum Performers

(** Indicates 2014 Platinum Performer)

Reese’s Tire & Automotive Tire Pros

ReesesTireNeil Dixon

President & CEO

Cottonwood, AZ

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  46

Number of Bays:  11

Location Total Square Footage:  11,500

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  72/28

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Frasier Tire Service Inc.**

FrasierTireTripp Lee

General Sales Manager

Sumter, S.C.

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  41

Number of Bays:  8

Location Total Square Footage:  42,975

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  67/33

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $10-15 million


Yorktown Service Plaza Tire Pros

YorktownServicePlazaTireProsByron Shull

Owner/Operator

Parma Heights, OH

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  43

Number of Bays:  10

Location Total Square Footage:  10,700

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix: 40/60

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Tokah Inc./Big O Tires**

TokahBigOTom Huls

President

Yucca Valley, CA

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  21

Number of Bays:  6

Location Total Square Footage:  5,101

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  64/36

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Ray’s Tire & Service Tire Pros**

RaysTire&ServiceDean Petty

Store Manager

St. Augustine, FL

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  33

Number of Bays:  8

Location Total Square Footage: 7,360

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix: 40/60

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Bud’s Tire & Wheel Tire Pros

BudsTireAndWheelBud Luppino

Owner

Orangecrest, CA

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  20

Number of Bays:  8

Location Total Square Footage:  5,920

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  60/40

2014 Total Gross Revenue: $1-5 million


Napa Tire Inc.

NapaTireJay Perry

Owner

Napa, CA

[email protected]

Years in Operation: 18

Number of Bays:  5

Location Total Square Footage:  7,800

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  35/65

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Hoffman Tire Pros**

HoffmanTireProsRichard Hoffman

Owner

Fayetteville, GA

[email protected]

Years in Operation:  39

Number of Bays:  8

Location Total Square Footage:  8,000

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  32/68

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Kovac Automotive

KovacAutomotiveJoe Kovac

Owner

Davie, FL

[email protected]

Years in Operation: 41

Number of Bays:  8

Location Total Square Footage:  6,000

2014 Tire/Service Sales Mix:  24/76

2014 Total Gross Revenue:  $1-5 million


Drenth’s Highway Garage/Tire Pros

DrenthsHighwayGarageJoseph Radziejeski

General Manager

Schererville, IN

Years in Operation: 2

Number of Bays: 8

Location Total Square Footage: 10,800

2014 Tire/Service Sales: 17/83

2014 Total Gross Revenue: $1-5 million


To see the data that separates the 2015 Platinum Performers from other tire dealers, click here

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Benjamin Franklin once advised tradesmen that “time is money.” While much has changed over the past two and a half centuries, this idea still holds true for small businesses. Most tire dealers are efficient with their time, but there is always room for improvement. If a tire dealership uses an antiquated computer program, or even

Benjamin Franklin once advised tradesmen that “time is money.” While much has changed over the past two and a half centuries, this idea still holds true for small businesses.
Most tire dealers are efficient with their time, but there is always room for improvement. If a tire dealership uses an antiquated computer program, or even handwrites job tickets, estimates and invoices, the shop is missing out on opportunities for growth. One way tire dealers can save time and money at their stores is by utilizing the latest software management solutions.
The right software can increase a tire dealer’s bottom line by helping them to work smarter, not harder. These products can optimize workflow, track inventory, process national accounts as well as estimate parts and labor.
“The biggest problem dealers experience if they’re not using software that’s designed for them or if they’re hand-writing things down is the loss of profits and loss of revenues,” shares Partick Braswell, director of strategic initiatives at TCS Technologies. “If the owner of the shop is running around, trying to manage here, manage there, and there is nothing doing the management for him, he’s missing out on opportunities and the chance to expand his business.”
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Chris Cloutier, shop owner  and founder of Autotext.me, notes that cars can get lost in the shuffle of a busy day, but software can help tire dealers manage where cars are at in the repair process.
“With just a point and click you can very quickly move something along in the workflow, and anyone in the shop can see where a car’s at,” he shares.
Workflow management software can also help shops keep its bays from backing up. Andreoli & Associates HITS BPOS software, designed to mimic the workflow of a typical tire shop, is one example of how software can help tire dealers identify shortfalls in their workflow system.
“The Bay Management screen is particularly helpful in identifying open bay opportunities.  The Appointment List View complements Bay Management by helping to identify workflow bottlenecks and potentially missed promised times,” says to Mike Andreoli, president of Andreoli & Associates.
In addition to tracking vehicles, part of a shop’s workflow is customer management.  Software solutions can help tire dealers know what parts have been order for customers, if a vehicle is waiting on approval and if a time promise has been made to customers, the software providers say. Additionally, software products can help maintain customer’s sale and service histories.
“Say a customer comes in and asks ‘What’s my history?’ ‘What did I buy?’ ‘You’ve given me other recommendations, can you get those?’ If you don’t have something you can instantly look up a specific history – what you’ve done and the data related to that – you’d be going to a filing cabinet and flipping through files and that could really be a time waster,” says Dave Vogel, vice president of sales at ASA Automotive Systems.

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