Since the marriage of Tire Factory and Point S in 2015, a lot of change, or rather an evolution, has been occurring on the West Coast. Tire Factory stores continue to convert to Point S Tire & Auto Service centers and the company eyes new ways to give independent tire dealers new tools to succeed.
In the spirit of evolution, Point S USA moved its 2017 Annual General Meeting from Portland to Phoenix to announce the latest advancements and updates the co-op has been working on to keep independent tire dealers on the map.
“Our independent spirit is our greatest strength,” Point S USA CEO Walter Lybeck told the crowd of dealers during the meeting’s general session.
Further Expansion
During the dealer meeting on Feb. 17, Point S USA announced 12 new stores were added in 2016 and two new stores in Oklahoma were added in early 2017 – expanding the Point S footprint farther east. Point S USA currently operates 206 U.S. stores in 15 western states and three distribution centers in Portland, Ore.; Denver, Colo.; and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Nearly 85% of those stores have been successfully converted or are in the process of converting to Point S branding (far exceeding expectations), according to Lybeck. Combined with the converted stores in Canada, Point S North America has successfully converted more than 340 stores.
By 2020, the company has set a goal to become the third-largest independent retail tire chain in North America.
New Tools
In order to reach this goal, Point S has made quite a few updates and changes to its recruitment procedures, products and services.
Growing the Point S family will still be a huge focus in 2017 and the company has taken prospecting and recruiting new members seriously by realigning its team to include team members solely focused on recruits.
To get products to dealers more frequently, Point S plans to increase delivery frequency in 2017 and announced it is also trying to get its fill rates up to 90%.
Also on the product side, Point S dealers will have exclusive rights to sell seven different tires from Sentury Tire’s Pantera Tire line. Plus, Point S dealers will have access to more rebates from tire manufacturers partners including Goodyear, Yokohama, Hankook, Cooper, Falken and Nokian.
To date, Point S now stocks 372 different sizes in its distribution centers.
Point S will also be offering dealers more digital and communication services, including an @PointSTire.com email address with the option for Skype for business to instantly message Point S staff.
The company’s point-of-sale program, Traction, has been updated to include a dashboard with sales data and the ability to compare progress to benchmarks across various locations and create trackable goals from these benchmarks.
One of the biggest updates includes the ability to sell tires online. The new Point S website is now capable of making transactions on desktops and mobile, allowing independent Point S dealers to directly sell tires online to their customers and bring them into their shop for service.
Unique to the online sales system is the ability to customize price, subscribe to regional pricing or do a combination of both. They system can also connect with Traction to check warehouse stock.
Originating in France, Point S has 3,400 branded locations worldwide in 32 countries and four continents.
Read more about the Point S USA dealer meeting in an upcoming issue of Tire Review.
