Growth Track: Seawell Says New-Look Hercules Now Ready For Expansion
Hercules Tire & Rubber Co. was formed in 1952 by a group of 21 retreaders looking to work together to bring better pricing and greater impact to their individual businesses. Over the years, Hercules expanded to become one of the top private branders in the U.S., a major player in the retreading industry, a customer
Looming Mandate: Without Help, Dealers Face Dark Future. How Will You Cope?
To many in the tire industry, TPMS is a four-letter acronym that is quickly becoming a four-letter word. That goes for retail dealers and, soon, consumers alike. But these people are only considering the hassles involved with servicing tire/wheel assemblies featuring these gizmos. Look a little deeper, and you’ll see the potential for independent tire
Higher Standards?: New Form of Liability Suit Raises Issue of What Customers Should Expect
What do customers have a right to expect from your business? When they come in for new tires or complaining about some odd sound in the rear end, what level of service should they – or can they legally – expect from you? Should there be a “standard of care” for tire retailers and shops?
Develop Your Craft: Sell More Tires and Service By Tapping Your Inner Artist
The business of selling tires involves both hard and soft science, spontaneous and carefully planned art. Much more than ‘black and round,’ a tire incorporates physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and a host of other disciplines. So, a tire dealer has to be part scientist. And, knowing the science of tires is a useful weapon in
Labor Into Profit: At the Right Rates, Labor Can Cost Less Than 20% of Sales
In the August issue, we talked about how to make 53% gross profit on parts using a jobber/dealer matrix to price parts. This tool is vital to your business, as a 53% gross profit on parts is critical to meeting a 20%-30% net profit goal. This month, we’re going to tackle labor, a very difficult
No End in Sight: Whether Premium- or Value-Priced, UHP Tires Are Here to Stay
Need some good news for once? Ultra-high performance tires have mushroomed into the single fastest-growing tire segment. From 2000 to 2004, sales of UHP tires were up 161%, jumping 32% from 2003 to 2004 alone. In terms of units sold, the numbers look like this: 3.99 million in 2000, 7.9 million in 2003 and 10.4
Perfect Circle?: Out-of-Round Tires, Though Rare, Deserve a Second Look
We didn’t say much when they took the fat out of our ice cream and cholesterol out of our potato chips. Even the sweet taste in our iced tea probably isn’t sugar. Sometimes we don’t pay much attention to the changes taking place right under our noses. Take out-of-round tires, for instance. We used to
Pedal to the Metal: Drag Tires, Lightweight Wheels Quench Customers’ Thirst for Speed
Speed: (sped) n. Magnitude of a velocity. The act or state of moving rapidly. An unquenchable thirst for more. OK, I made up the last one, but you know what I’m talking about. In the world of instant gratification, motorsports is king. If a 10-second quarter was great yesterday, it’s just a start today. Because