December 21, 2009
Five ways to beat the winter blahs
Dealers share tips on 'rightsizing,' chasing new business and more
By: Mike Manges
3. “Rightsize” your inventory. Amityville (N.Y.) Firestone’s business has been good the last several winters, says owner Ernie Caramanico. But new tire sales are off to a slow start this season. (Auto service, he adds, remains up.)
“People are trying to get the most out of their tires. I saw two tires today with both belts showing.”
When tire sales are slow, it’s a good time to examine your internal operations, according to Caramanico. “We usually streamline our inventory during the winter” by weeding out slow-selling tires.
“We’ll do a physical inventory. If I have 20 of one size, I’ll cut it in half.” That doesn’t mean Caramanico won’t order more when demand picks back up. It’s just a way to keep cash flowing, he explains.
4. Get flexible on pricing. December and January are usually good months for Richlonn’s Tire & Service Center, which has five locations throughout the greater Milwaukee, Wis., area. “We don’t see a slowdown until February,” says Brett Matschke, the dealership’s president.
“When that comes, we try to be more flexible on our pricing. We’re more willing to match our competitors’ prices, specifically written estimates. We’ll also run some special deals to drive business.
“We’ll try to do some extra spiffs internally to get our salespeople fired up” about pushing certain tires, in addition to selling services like windshield wiper replacements.
5. Develop alternative revenue streams. “Instead of sitting there, crying and saying ‘There aren’t any tires to sell,’ we’re coming up with things” to increase vehicle service revenue, says Al Saks, president of Dorchester Tire Service Inc. in Boston, Mass.
“We’re concentrating on new areas. We’re soliciting fleets with vans and small trucks to get them on a program for lube and oil. We also have increased our capacity for bigger vehicle wheel alignments... so we can do ambulances, ramp trucks, that sort of thing.”
Dorchester Tire, which also sells commercial truck tires, has invested more than $100,000 in new equipment in 2009.
When it comes to specific winter “survival tips,” Saks recommends using down time to take care “of all those routine things we don’t take time to do,” like freshening your show room.
That said, there’s only so much you can do to dramatically elevate tire sales during the winter months, he believes. “Shopping doesn’t necessarily revolve around the vehicle this time of the year. People have set their budgets for other things.”
Not all tire dealers whom MTD interviewed expect to see a sales slump this winter.
“Traditionally, the fourth quarter is our strongest,” with the first quarter a close second, says Ken Papas, co-owner of Ashland Tire & Auto in Chicago, Ill. “I think in our market as a whole, it’s the mom-and-pop shops who are doing well. The mass merchandisers who live on advertising — they’re the ones who are struggling.”
“Our business is very good all the time,” says Robert Wood, store manager at Dean’s Tire & Automotive Service in Chesterton, Ind. “We treat our customers very, very well, and that goes a long way.” ■
Sign up for our Enews and receive the latest news, trends, and product information right in your e-mail inbox.