Southern Tire Mart and Bridgestone Americas, Inc. have reached an agreement for Southern Tire Mart to purchase 46 GCR Tires & Service stores and six GCR retread plants from Bridgestone. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
The purchase of these locations will allow Southern Tire Mart to serve more customers in markets where they currently operate, as well as expand its footprint to include new geographic regions. Founded in 1973, Southern Tire Mart is a leading provider of commercial truck tires, off-the-road tires and Bandag retreads. The company is based in Columbia, Mississippi, and currently operates more than 90 commercial truck tire centers in 10 states.
“As the largest commercial tire dealer in the U.S., our mission is to provide customers with best-in-class tires and service. To achieve this, we need a strong network of stores that are staffed by experts in the tire and service industry,” said Jim and Tom Duff of Southern Tire Mart. “The purchase of these GCR locations allows us to expand our footprint in the Southern U.S. while also bringing more knowledge and expertise to our team.”
The GCR stores and retread plants being purchased by Southern Tire Mart are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. These locations currently serve customers in the commercial trucking, off-the-road and agriculture industries.
“At Bridgestone, we continually evaluate and evolve our distribution strategies to ensure we are meeting the needs of fleet customers across our company-owned GCR stores and the independent dealer channel,” said Scott Damon, president of Bridgestone’s Commercial Group for the U.S. and Canada. “We believe partnering with Southern Tire Mart allows us to further strengthen our commercial tire distribution network and position the growth of our brands and fleet solutions.”
Bridgestone will continue to operate more than 130 GCR stores across the U.S. and Canada. GCR remains an important part of the company’s commercial distribution strategy as a leading provider of commercial tires and service in key geographic markets.
Southern Tire Mart and the GCR stores included in the sale will conduct business separately until the transaction closes, which is expected to occur in the next 30 days. The stores will be transitioned from GCR to Southern Tire Mart following closing. GCR remains focused on meeting the needs of fleet customers and has a strong plan in place to ensure a seamless transition, Bridgestone says.
This story will be updated.
