Buy Vs. Lease: Should You Buy Your Store Building and Land? Or, Should you Lease Your Store’s Quarters?
The buy/lease quandary is an old one; it’s been around since the first retail store opened. It’s a big decision for any business of any size because both buying and leasing have distinct, lasting impacts on how you operate – and even how successful you will be. It is also a question you should ask
Eyes Wide Open: Does Fog of Easy Money Obscure Reality of Car Dealer Danger?
“Some of these guys are really worried,” Bud said, gesturing toward a group of dealers nearby. “But I’m worried that a lot of them just don’t see it.” Bud Hogan, owner of Miller Motors, a tire dealership in Mankato, Minn., is a member of U.S. Tire & Exhaust’s American Car Care Center’s dealer council. He
Defining Moment: Cost Structure, Replacement Market Keys to Success in CTNA’s Decisive Year
Dr. Alan Hippe took over as head of Continental Tire North America (CTNA) after Martien de Louw abruptly left the company last May. Hippe had been a member of Continental AG’s executive board since 2002. Prior to accepting his role with Continental, Hippe had served as senior vice president in the group controlling and IT
Income and Outcome: Give Bad Sales the Brush-Off By Knowing Your TCS
Sales are great, registers are buzzing, customers are plentiful. Still, at the end of the month, profits are weak and balance sheets aren’t balancing. Has this ever happened to you? If you’re in the business of running a business – as all tire dealers are – chances are good it has. So, just what is
The Right Mix: Maximize Both Tire Sales and Vehicle Service Profits
I have coached thousands of tire dealers on how to increase their service business, but, sometimes, a sharper focus on service can diminish tire sales or change mix percentages. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely! Tiremakers, programs, franchisees and tire retailers have all created business, staffing and facility models that worked on paper. Some had
On the Road – Still: Fuel Prices, Vehicle Cost Not Stalling RV Tire Market Growth
About 8 million U.S. households now own at least one RV. That’s a whopping 58% increase since 1980. Putting it another way, 376,700 units (motorhomes and towables) were shipped in 2005, up 1.8% from 2004 numbers. Even more impressive is the 15% gain in RV ownership from 2001 to 2004. The trend is unmistakable. All
Moving Marvels: Tire Innovations: A Look Back, a Step Forward
From the four full-ply poly bias tires of the early to mid-1960s to the carbon-fiber-enhanced radials complete with Kevlar belts and multiple compound tread designs of the 21st century, we’ve come a long way in a relatively short time. A glance in the rear-view mirror shows that our great industry has been foolish at times
Double Jeopardy: Right Size, Wrong Load Index Can Mean Liability Risk
When you sell a set of non-OE tires, do you set the air pressure the same as it was in the OE tires? Do your sales staff, manager and technicians understand the importance of load index? Can they read a load and inflation table? Can they recite, from memory, the inflation rule – that the
EPA Headaches Ahead: Compliance is Getting Harder. What Can You Do to Protect Your Business?
Until a few years ago, a dumpsite in sleepy southern New Hampshire, near Plaistow, had been federally approved, annually inspected and EPA certified. Even the transporters who regularly deposited their loads there were EPA licensed, and all the businesses that used the site for their refuse assumed that they, too, were in 100% compliance. Imagine,
Winter Vacations?: Making the Most of Dealer Meetings – Without Hangover Blahs
The accumulation of peanut bags in my briefcase tells me that it’s Annual Dealer Meeting time once again – the period when tire companies bring dealers together in one garden spot to rev them up for the coming push. New products are unveiled. Back-orders and low fill-rates are explained. And, promises are made that “things
Exit Strategy: Recruiting the Right People Helps Your Business Run on its Own
I meet a lot of tire dealers who want more time for family, friends, hobbies, etc. Even though thousands of U.S. business owners have already discovered how to be absent and still make money, most can’t pull it off. It requires finding good, honest employees, keeping them happy and training them to be as good
All About the ‘S’s: Small OTR Success Sits Squarely on Service and Supply
Commercial dealers: Are you offering customers the most complete range of tires possible? Do you consider yourself a ‘full-service’ dealer with the ability to recommend tires for every sort of commercial application? If you already offer medium truck and OTR tires, it may be worth your while to consider other segments of the commercial tire