Bridgestone Going with Confidence

Joining Bridgestone Select Tyre & Auto was the catalyst for Caleb Sos to achieve his personal aspirations and provided no shortage of opportunities along the way. After winning Bridgestone’s franchisee of the year title for a third straight year, he can attest to the satisfaction of being part of Australia’s leading tyre and mechanical service networks.

Having spent most of his working life in the automotive and tyre industry, it was the reputation of the Bridgestone name that attracted him to joining the Bridgestone Select Tyre & Auto franchise model in 2015 at the Nundah store in Brisbane’s inner suburbs and adding his second location in 2019 at Hendra.

“I had plenty of exposure to other brands and franchises within the industry, but none of them have the brand strength, network maturity or professionalism of Bridgestone and the Bridgestone Select Tyre & Auto Network,” Caleb explained.

“It’s a brand that is loved by the public and from my point of view, has always been the pinnacle of the tyre industry. That’s why I was attracted to joining the network. Bridgestone has the market leading product, backed up by the biggest and best network.” Working closely with the Bridgestone network development team, the Nundah store was identified as a prime opportunity for his first store. For the opportunity to open a second store at Hendra, it was again working closely with the team to identify the best fit for all parties.

“Starting within the Bridgestone Select Tyre & Auto network was made really simple by the team through leaning on the systems and processes that they’ve developed for all store operators.”

Through Bridgestone’s DRIVE program, franchisees are given a platform to grow their business – combined with the support from the Bridgestone retail and operations team.

“Bridgestone’s DRIVE program places an emphasis on safety, processes, customer experience and satisfaction and the core parts of the business. Through the store of the year program, it creates a great, easy to follow framework for running a successful store,” Caleb added.

While Caleb’s entered the network with a background within the industry, Bridgestone’s operations manual, and the model’s systems and processes, makes it simple for franchisees with little to no automotive experience.

“One of the advantages of being part of a significant network like Bridgestone Select Tyre & Auto is the information sharing between stores, and its not uncommon to see newcomers to the industry hit the ground running because of the systems and processes Bridgestone has refined,” Caleb said.

By following the processes and ongoing collaboration with the network development team and retail team, the opportunity arose for Caleb to expand to a second store at Hendra, and operate as a multi-franchise owner for several years.

“The Bridgestone team genuinely works with you as a franchisee, and it’s been through true collaboration that we expanded to a second store. They also supported us in other ways such as helping us with developing our people at our stores to a level where they had the appetite and knowledge to enter store ownership themselves,” Caleb explained.

“The support of Bridgestone also allowed us to develop our store manager at our original store and see him buy the business from us. We had the full support of Bridgestone, and it was a great outcome for all parties: the customers had continuity, Bridgestone gained another great franchisee and it provided new opportunities for us.”

Caleb confesses that he’s always been driven by opportunity and believes that there are no shortage of them within the tyre and automotive industry.

“Nearly every household has a car, and they will always need servicing and tyres. It’s a staple industry and there is no better opportunity provider in the industry than Bridgestone,” he said.

“Now is an exciting time for the industry as it transitions to new technology, and Bridgestone is giving us the opportunity to be at the forefront of the evolution.”