Big O Tires, LLC, a North American retail tire franchisors with nearly 450 independently-owned and operated locations, has a franchisee base from diverse backgrounds all with experience that impacts the way they run their businesses. For Tom Coke, Joe Eltringham and Derrick Martin, they attribute their 44 years of combined experience in the Marine Corps, a strong team and the leveraging of experience and resources from Big O Tires.
The team has five Big O Tires locations in Tennessee; they started with two in Knoxville and one in Murfreesboro, and after experiencing success with the brand, added two more locations in Knoxville. Since opening their first location in March 2017, the team has experienced double-digit sales and car count growth. By becoming franchisees in the nearly 450-store Big O Tires system, small-business owners reap the benefits of brand-name recognition, national advertising, training, time-tested operational processes and an array of online marketing tools that are beyond the reach of most independents.
“Tom, Joe and Derrick are a remarkable team and we are fortunate to have them as part of the Big O Tires family,” said John Kairys, vice president and general manager of Big O Tires. “They bring the skills they learned while dedicating their lives to the United States Marine Corps to work every single day; they are leaders in the industry, the community, and the military and we thank them for their dedication and for their service.”
Big O Tires has a U.S. Military Veteran Program that is attractive to many veterans. The Program is available to qualified individuals who either have received an honorable discharge from one of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps), or are currently serving in one of the U.S. Armed Forces and are eligible to receive an honorable discharge. The waiver of the initial franchise fee of $30,000 is applicable to the first Big O Tires location.
“We’re honored to have the opportunity to represent the U.S. Marine Corps; a lot of what we learned while serving our country has served us well in business,” recognized Joe Eltringham. “We looked for the right partner who would support our initiatives and our business and Big O Tires doesn’t just do that, the team goes above and beyond to make sure that we have what we need to be successful and so much more.”
