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Focus on Dealers

By

Madison Gehring

New tools and programs were hot topics at American Tire Distributors Inc.’s (ATD) Tire Pros meeting in San Diego, Calif.

ATD highlighted many new tools and programs that Tire Pros dealers can take advantage of, such as mobile tire installation, self-service kiosks and more.

Greg Bell, president of Tire Pros, spoke with MTD about what the group wants to do in 2023 and the programs it’s offering.

Expansion On All Fronts

In 2021, Bell told MTD there were 440 owner-operators with a total of 609 locations in the Tire Pros network.

Now, Bell says Tire Pros has 445 owner-operators and 623 locations — with three of those locations having already come on line in 2023.

“We’ve had year-over-year positive growth and a lot of our current operators expanded their locations, which is where a lot of those new location numbers come from,” he says.

Bell believes this expansion will continue, but the group isn’t “adding locations just to add them. It’s strategic growth. We are looking for owners we have commonality with and share goals with.

“I don’t want to be presumptuous about what anybody’s needs are, so our first step is looking at the location’s goals and objectives and seeing how we can help.”

California is home to the most Tire Pros locations, followed by Texas.

Mobile Tire Service

Bell says Tire Pros set out to pilot its new mobile tire installation program in 2022.

James Baxter, owner Neighborhood Tire Pros, a two-location dealership based in Atlanta, Ga., and Chris Mortensen, owner of two-location Samaritan Tire Pros, which is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minn., were among the first Tire Pros members to take on the mobile tire installation idea.

When introduced, the program just consisted of sourcing and training.

“We had a great idea for it, but what we were really missing was that back-end software and technology to connect to the consumer,” says Bell. “That’s where our partnership with Avayler (software) comes into play. They helped us get that comprehensive end-to-end solution.”

Avayler software comes from a United Kingdom-based company, Halfords, which ATD brought to the North American market about two years ago.

Since Baxter and Mortensen began running their vans, three more Tire Pros dealers have added mobile tire service.

Mark Reece, owner of the two-location Benedetti Tire Service & Express Lube Tire Pros in Sebastopol, Calif., brought his van to the conference so other dealers could get a first-hand look at it.

Since the meeting, 40 more Tire Pros dealers have expressed interest in getting a van for their locations, according to Bell.

“My goal for this conference was to generate excitement and interest — and then midway through the year, we would maybe be at 20 or 25 vans. So this (has) far exceeded my expectations.”

Mobile tire installation allows dealers to reach another segment of customers, says Bell, and is “like an extension of the dealers’ brick-and-mortar locations.

“One of (our mobile van) operators remarked to me that a large majority of his customer-base (is) millennial Tesla owners. They want ease, they want convenience and they don’t want to talk to people. So this is perfect for them. We can come to the customer on the customer’s time.”

More Digital Tools

Another program that Tire Pros highlighted was its Showroom of the Future concept. This included a digital consumer portal, self-service kiosks, a digital tire wall, key drop-off and more.

Tire Pros has been working on a pointof-sales system to unify its locations for a few years.

With the help of Tire Guru Software, Bell says “we’ve created a comprehensive, business management ecosystem” that gives the operator flexibility in communicating with customers.

More than 40% of Tire Pros members are using the new system.