Edmonton-based Fountain Tire has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Ontario-based tire retailer Royal Tire, extending Fountain Tire’s reach eastward.
Royal Tire, which is headquartered in Sault St. Marie, has nine retail locations in Sudbury, Timmins, Sault St. Marie, Marathon, New Liskeard, Huntsville, Matachewan and Wawa.
Fountain Tire itself has 154 locations, stretching from Victoria, British Columbia, to Vaughn, Ontario.
“The partnership is an important step in Fountain Tire’s long-term strategic plan to expand into new markets from its base in Western Canada,” the company said. “The resources that Fountain Tire brings to the table are expected to enable Royal Tire to drive growth across its consumer, light truck, commercial truck and OTR tire businesses.”
“Our shared goal is to surpass the expectations of our valued customers at all Royal Tire locations,” says Phil Shaw, one of Royal Tire’s equity partners. “The new relationship is going to create some amazing synergies. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Royal Tire associate.”
“The opportunities we envision for mutual growth and shared learning make our relationship with Royal Tire very exciting,” says Fountain Tire CEO Brent Hesje. “This partnership is a perfect fit in terms of our shared values of local ownership and concern for the well-being and success of our associates, customers and communities.”’