Remember when broad-line was easy to define?

Those days are history, say tiremakers. Here's why!

By: Mike Manges

Brennan says his company, Kumho, grapples with the same questions. “The broad-line segment is touching a lot of places it didn’t touch before. The growth in the marketplace of high performance and ultra-high performance... means we have to put long mileage, good comfort and good snow traction into tire sizes we never would have in the past.

“Within the next five to six years, I think you’re going to see huge changes in the distribution styles of manufacturers and distributors. There are distributors out there who will not be able to handle size proliferation.

“If a customer drives in and wants one of these sizes,” he continues, “the dealer will have to have it, so the way he gets tires and how fast he gets them will have to evolve over time.”

The average amount of time between the moment a customer decides he wants to buy replacement tires and the moment he enters a tire dealership to actually make the purchase is a mere six hours, according to Roffler, as opposed to six days some 10 years ago.

Customers just don’t want to wait anymore, he says.

His advice to dealers? “You need to hold a basic stock of the most popular sizes. And if you’re a small retailer, you have to find a good distributor who can deliver tires to you on a daily basis.”

It won’t simplify all of the complexities caused by the melding of broad-line and performance, but it’s a start, he adds    ■

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Related Topics: Broad-line tires, Continental, Kumho

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