Fire Up Your Sales Approach
Many of you consider yourselves to be retailers, and retailing is an important and proud industry. This is true whether one is selling clothing, appliances or, in this case, tires and automotive services. At the core of retailing is a reactive approach to working with consumers. They come into your dealership – driven by an
Apollo Eyes New Plant, Possible Plantation Buy
According to a number of media reports, Apollo Tyres plans to build a greenfield tire in Eastern Europe within the next few years. "We are looking for a facility in Eastern Europe. It is only in the nascent stage right now," Apollo Tyres Chairman Onkar Kanwar said. "We are looking at geographies such as Eastern
Strong People, Focused Strategy Has Cooper Moving, Says Armes
One could certainly see Roy Armes as the typical organizational man, given his long 31-year background with Whirlpool, where he held a number of domestic and overseas executive posts. But no doubt he is an operations man, and his turn as chairman, president and CEO of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. bears this out. Armes
Lessons Learned on the Great Truck Hunt
Know how you start searching for something, but end up disappointed? A couple of years ago we downsized the Smith vehicle fleet and went all sedan. Gas prices forced us to re-evaluate owning a SUV, which was handy to have for family trips and the typical home center runs. I started keeping one eye open
European Wheel Dumping Investigation Could Mean 30% Duty
While everyone has been focusing on the U.S.-initiated anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese-made passenger car tires, another anti-dumping investigation has escaped widespread coverage. In August 2009, the European Commission began an investigation into dumping allegations made against Chinese wheel makers who allegedly sold products into the European markets beneath cost price. At the time, 60 Chinese
The New Frugality: Consumer Withdrawal Runs Deep, May Last the Decade
The last tumultuous decade was the 1980s, which opened with hyper-inflation, high unemployment and astronomical interest rates, and closed as the “Me Decade” when dollars flowed easy and greed was good. The decade we just laid to rest – The Aughts – by contrast, will likely be remembered as the “Decade of Benign Neglect.” Coming
2009 Top Shop Winner: Enger Tire & Auto
Jim Enger is no control freak. When you have 20 retail stores, three warehouses, two parts outlets and associated business interests spread over 10 of the largest and busiest counties in Northeast Ohio, you can’t micro-manage every little thing. He doesn’t even try. But he does want to control his own destiny, and his approach
Looking Long Term: Kanwar Has Apollo Tyre Focused…and on the Move
When Onkar Kanwar took over Apollo Tyres Ltd. In 1980, the company was a huge mess. Bad tires and worse management had driven the company – founded by his father in 1976 – into bankruptcy, its net worth wiped out five times over. But nearly 30 years later, the 66-year-old chairman sits atop India’s largest
Jim’s Blog: Dissecting the WSJ
The one thing I really love about the consumer media is how little they try to know about a subject before they put words on paper or over the airwaves. We certainly saw a lot of that in the wake of the Ford-Firestone tire recalls in 2000 and 2001, didn’t we? Little surprise, then, that
Dissecting the WSJ
The one thing I really love about the consumer media is how little they try to know about a subject before they put words on paper or over the airwaves. We certainly saw a lot of that in the wake of the Ford-Firestone tire recalls in 2000 and 2001, didn’t we? Little surprise, then, that