In mid-April the company announced the opening of a company-owned branch of Hankook’s one-stop automotive aftermarket service shop chain in the Chinese city of Shanghai, the first of many T-station centres the company plans to launch in China.
Currently five distributors from various parts of the country have applied for franchises, and Hankook predicts that it will open 300 franchised centres in the next five years, as well as other company owned centres.
China is the first market outside of South Korea in which the T-station concept has been launched. The chain has been operating in its home market for almost three years, and at present some 100 franchised T-station centres – with equipment leased from Hankook – are operating within South Korea.
"T-station is a famous brand of Korea and has succeeded in Korea. We introduces this mode into China to expand the Chinese market and lift the brand value of Hankook in China on the one hand; and offer the advanced services to the Chinese consumers on the other." said Choi Jin Wook, president of Hankook Tire China.
The newly opened Shanghai T-Station centre covers more than 730 square metres and offers a range of services beyond those traditionally associated with a tyre manufacturer. Hankook have targeted their T-Station centres at the owners of high-end passenger vehicles.
