Magazine for the professional tire industry
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European notebook A European perspective on a 'hidden proft booster' in every tire center W hen we talk about the tire industry, the popularity in wheel alignment can be summed most common points of debate seem up in a single word — training! to hover around sales and pattern Wheel alignment specialists such as Superdesign and how diferent manufacturers come up tracker now provide a series of comprehensive with new innovative benefts to make their tires training schemes to help retailers' staf undermore appealing than their competitors'. stand the theory and operational capabilities of Looking for a moment at how the retail tire alignment which are not only open to their own dealers approach their market, it would be true customers but to anyone interested in learning to say the world over that their ultimate priority more about professional wheel alignment and is to convert every sales inquiry into a hard cash By John Stone the surprising proft to be made from the service. To get a real "insider view" on wheel alignment deal leading to a percentage of proft. Over the past couple of months I have been looking at training, I recently atended (as an observer) a special the whole concept of how European tire retailers, garage one-day training course jointly held by a wheel alignment outlets and general mechanical repair businesses can boost equipment specialist and a leading independent UK-based their proft margins even further. Te conclusion I have tire retail chain. Te course was intensive and explained reached is that the answer lies in a piece of equipment why wheel alignment isn't just about the equipment being that can usually be found tucked away somewhere in used, but primarily concerns understanding the physics most outlets. Of course I am referring to wheel alignment of the operation. machinery, which quite bluntly can be easily developed Tere also was a certain amount of participation by into a "hidden source" of proft from a majority of tire sales. the tire fters atending the course in order to underline We all know that the diferent aspects surrounding alignment including drivers do not come manufacturers' data and issues to look for when inspecting willingly to buy a a vehicle prior to carrying out a wheel alignment check. new tire, which will Other areas covered included over- and under-steer and always be consid- checking the steering arm and camber levels. I came away ered a "stress pur- from the training session with a much clearer understandchase." However, ing of alignment service both prior to and during a wheel if they can leave alignment check. with a vehicle that With these highly important training events taking place will perform more on an increasing level throughout Europe, there has never safely and economi- been a beter time for the automotive servicing market to cally, then I believe appreciate and act upon the immense potential in ofering some would be a highly professional service in wheel alignment which interested in hav- in the long-term will actually extend the life of a car tire. ing their wheels By ofering a free wheel alignment check when fting aligned. a tire, drivers feel they are receiving additional customer I have noticed service. And it is surprising how the tracking on most vehicles that a grow ing becomes misaligned over a period of time, especially now number of Euro- with the serious conditions of Europe's roads, which are A typical European training session on wheel alignment. pean tire retailers litered with dangerous potholes — now that's another story! and garages are ofIn conclusion, with proft margins on tire sales becomfering a free wheel alignment check as part of their customer ing increasingly tighter due to the economic situation in service package which in turn can lead to an additional Europe, many retailers are now realizing the encouraging proft margin. In fact, some retailers (who have to remain benefts to their business which can be achieved through nameless) have informed me that wheel alignment has wheel alignment. ■ signifcantly boosted their daily income. In an efort to fnd out what has instigated this increasing John Stone has been working within the global tire industry interest in wheel alignment services, I spoke with several for the past 20 years. In 2004 he launched his own company, companies in the UK and European alignment market Sapphire Media Services, as a business media consultant including Supertracker, one of the elite specialists leading with clients around the globe. Stone also writes for tire and this innovative industry. automotive-related publications in Europe, South Afica What I discovered is that the reason for this surging and Asia. 68 MTD August 2013