Magazine for the professional tire industry
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45 www.moderntiredealer.com 'If you have it, you are going to sell it' Customers love a 'know-it-all' when it comes to specialty tires By Ann Neal T oday's consumers see something they want and have to have it immediately. If that something is a specialty tire, the commercial dealer who has it will make the sale. "If you have it, you are going to sell it," says Doug errien, president of Central Tire Co. Inc. based in Sanford, Maine. "When their machine is down, people cannot wait two or three days to get a tire. ey will drive an hour to two hours to get a tire if you're the only one who has it." Mike Hill sums up consumer expectations for specialty tires in just two words: McDonald's mentality. "ey want to get it and they want it now. It's not like the old days where they'd say I need a farm tire and I need to call someone so I can get it in a week or two. ey expect you to have it for them right now." Hill is vice president of sales for Medina, Ohio-based North Gateway Tire Co. Inc., which recently completed an 82,000-square-foot addition to its warehouse in Seville, Ohio. Products in the 250,000-square-foot building range from four-inch cart tires to 29.5 R25 off-the-road tires, along with tubes and wheels. North Gateway Tire also serves wholesale customers out of an 80,000-square-foot building about 10 miles away in Medina. e Medina facility houses a 27-bay retail store, too. e company is owned by Darell Hill in partnership with Bob Dunlap of Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc., which is based in Batesville, Miss. North Gateway Tire makes daily deliveries to wholesale customers in Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northwest West Virginia, and half of Michigan. "e number one thing in selling specialty tires as far as your lawn and garden, boat trailer, OTR , farm, you name it as far as the specialty tire line, is having the inventory," says Hill. "If you don't have it, you can't sell it. at goes both at the distribution level and the retail level." Central Tire is a third-generation dealership founded in 1939 by the late Arthur errien. His son, Rene, led the company until his retirement two years ago. Rene's sons took over, with Doug becoming president and Jeff vice president. e company provides retail, commercial and wholesale services out of its headquarters in Sanford. Central Tire also retreads about 10,000 skid steer, forkli, and medium truck tires a year at the Sanford facility. e Sanford warehouse measures 15,000 square feet. A commercial store with a 3,000-square-foot warehouse is about two hours north in Shawmut, Maine. A 1,000-square-foot warehouse is located in the town of Waldoboro on Maine's coast. Cen- tral Tire distributes tires to dealers in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachuses, and parts of Vermont and Rhode Island. errien suggests independent tire dealers look at their local market, good customers, landscapers and construction companies. "Find out what they are running for equipment. Even if you stock one tire, if they're down, that could mean everything if you have that tire to get them going." Dealers who combine a solid relationship with a wholesaler and a bit of in-store marketing can meet consumers' demands for specialty tires. "Be connected to a large wholesaler who handles vast amounts of inventory across the board," says Andy Ondo, vice president of purchasing for Gateway Tire. "Become a purchaser from those suppliers." errien says his employees are on the phone with his wholesale accounts all day long every day. "Someone will call them for a price, and they'll call us for a price. We tell them we have it in stock and can get it to them today if they need it." A wholesaler can help a dealer's profitability as well. "Partner up with us," says Hill. "If you pick us for boat trailer tires every time someone walks in your door but don't buy any passenger or light truck tires, you're not geing the best deal." Commercial Tire Dealer™ ALSO IN CTD Retreading: Dealers and fleets take a different view . . . 48 Choosing tires for 6x2s: Fleets may be forfeiting tire life for improved fuel mileage . . . 50 Doug Therrien (right) is president and his brother, Jeff, is vice presi- dent of Central Tire Co. The company services all the commercial tires it sells to wholesale customers in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and parts of Vermont and Rhode Island.