Kal Tire and Bridgestone Canada have reached an agreement for Kal Tire to purchase 15 full-service GCR Tires & Service stores, two retread plants and one off-the-road tire repair shop from Bridgestone.
The purchase of these locations will allow Kal Tire to serve more consumer, commercial and mining customers in the Canadian markets where it currently operates, as well as expand its footprint to include locations in eastern Canada, the company says.
Kal Tire has more than 250 retail and commercial stores from British Columbia to Ontario.
The GCR stores and retread plants being purchased by Kal Tire are in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. All 125 GCR employees are expected to join Kal Tire upon completion of the transaction, which is scheduled to close in Q4 2021, the company says.
“The purchase of these GCR locations allows us to expand our footprint across Canada, while also bringing more knowledge and expertise to our team,” says Robert Foord, president of Kal Tire.
Bridgestone Americas will continue to operate 59 GCR stores and 13 GCR retread plants in the western U.S. GCR remains an integral part of Bridgestone’s commercial distribution strategy in the U.S. and is committed to serving commercial customers in a best-in-class manner, while continuing to drive growth and support future mobility solutions, the company says.
The GCR stores included in the sale will conduct business separately from Kal Tire until the transaction closes.
