Bridgestone is considering acquiring 500 tire shops in the UK to build a specialist tire retail network that would rival Kwik-Fit’s, according to reports from the Daily Telegraph.
The Japanese tiremaker is seeking to buy eight to 10 regional automotive retail groups within a year and merge them into one brand, a source told The Telegraph.
In 2010, the tiremaker submitted a bid for Kwik-Fit, but lost out to current owners Itochu.
“When we talk about strategy and building the future, we’re putting the basis down now. We’ve done a lot of work in 2013 and are still doing a lot of work in 2014,” said a spokesman for Bridgestone’s Europe operations told the Daily Telegraph.
“We may know where we want to go but we do not necessarily have all the elements in place to execute that strategy. It is ongoing work, but at this stage, we wouldn’t exclude looking at acquisitions.”
Bridgestone currently operates 2,200 outlets across the U.S. under the Firestone Complete Auto Care brand.
