Tires Go Flat, Car Dealers Get a Boost, and Charitable Dealers Do Good
The headline alarmed me. “Local band Tires ends its journey.” Damn. My band was gone. For all time…or at least until they decide to reunite for a nostalgia tour. Most of that is a joke, but it is true that Des Moines-based indie band Tires has officially broken up “ending their three-year run of bringing
Canada-South Korea Free Trade Agreement
The Government of Canada announced that it has signed a trade agreement with South Korea on September 22, 2014. This follows the legal review of the tentative agreement announced earlier. The next step for both countries is to submit the agreement to their respective parliaments for ratification. If the ratification process is confirmed, it is
Two New Tires Get Their Own Road Trip
Toyo Tire USA Corp. used the imminent official launch of two important new tires to redefine its dealer education efforts and expand its consumer event presence. Coming to the market in September are a pair of all-new tires that Toyo feels will help dealers by filling two distinct, strong market segments. The Open Country R/T
Finally…A Colorful Picture
Thirty years ago when I joined this industry, it was quite enough to know that there were “dozens of tire companies” (when BFGoodrich and Firestone and many others were stand-alone companies) and “25,000 independent tire dealers” in the U.S. That was that and no one questioned what then passed for “market intelligence.” We had little
What the Future Holds
An incomplete economic recovery continues to hamper the industry, but potential China tire tariffs pose a greater threat to the tire market future
Mountains of Truth, Ideas And Opinion
On the mountains of truth, you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.” German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche never sold a tire or turned a wrench, but his decades-old take on truth-seeking
Truck Tire Marketshares and Language Issues
If you want to understand what the phrase “lingering effects” means when speaking about the Great Recession, one can look at the current state of the U.K. medium truck tire market. Earlier this month, Tyres & Accessories revealed its 2014 rundown of truck tire brand marketshares in the still-together U.K. and topping the list was
Odell’s Sudden Departure Leaves Pep Boys Future Cloudy
Late on Sept. 26 it was learned that Pep Boys president and CEO Mike Odell had “resigned,” effective immediately. Short-term, Odell is replaced by interim CEO John Sweetwood while the company searches for its four CEO over the last eight years. The company said it will look at both internal and external candidates for a
Nitto Showcases Two New Tires In California
Long viewed as a niche segment player in the UHP and light truck/SUV markets, Nitto Tire USA Corp.’s focus on those segments has brought the company a lot of notoriety among enthusiasts. In more recent times, Nitto has made strides in broadening its product screen, giving its dealers more products to address a wider range
Of Shortcomings and Responsibility: The Public Service Edition
How must it feel to be publicly lashed for being the most disorganized, ineffective, irresponsible and unresponsive government agency in perhaps the history of all government agencies? Harsh, yes? But what if that criticism came from one of the most disorganized, ineffective, irresponsible and unresponsive government bodies ever in the history of government bodies? Probably
Will You Take $2 Billion for Those Stores? Oh, and Throw in That Swimsuit
Another quarter has closed and it’s more of the same for poor old Sears Holdings. Revenue fell 9.7% year-on-year, tumbling to $8 billion. Same-store sales dropped 0.8% YoY. Net profit was a net loss – of $573 million – during the fiscal quarter that ended Aug. 2. The company reportedly burned through $747 million in
CCT Valuation Set at $440M, Chengshan Now on the Clock
Now we know the valuation. Now we know the prices. And now we wait some more for resolution. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. late yesterday announced that its Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. (CCT) plant in Shandong province, China, was valued at approximately $440 million. The valuation came from an independent firm agreed on by
