Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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The top 25 independent tire dealers prefer... Michelin

By: Bob Ulrich

Which brand is number one (and two and three) among the top independent tire dealers in the United States? Well, Bridgestone is number three, based on the brands marketed by the top 25 dealers in the country. That leaves the top two brands.

Some explanation is in order here. The Modern Tire Dealer 100 will appear in MTD's July issue. It lists the top 100 independent tire store chains in the country based on retail, commercial and retail/commercial outlets. Wholesale outlets are included in the list, but are not part of the store count.

Not surprisingly, Discount Tire Co. Inc. (775 retail stores) and Tire Kingdom Inc. (735 retail stores) were one-two on the list, far ahead of everyone else. Two commercial dealers, Service Tire Truck Centers Inc. (40 stores) and Snider Tire Inc. (40 stores) tied for 24th place.

Just looking at the top 25 -- the cream of the crop based on number of stores -- of the MTD 100, no brand is sold by more dealers than Michelin. Twenty dealers, or 80%, sell it; those dealers represent 2,908 outlets, or 83.3% of the 3,489 outlets run by the top 25.

In second is Goodyear, which is sold by 17, or 68%, of the dealers. They represent 2,733 outlets, or 78.3% of the total.

The Bridgestone brand is third, sold by 16 of the top 25 (64%) at 1,928 outlets (55.2%).

Here are some interesting facts I discovered when breaking down the numbers of the top 25.

* Dealers paired Goodyear with Dunlop in 13 of the 17 times Goodyear was mentioned.

* Dealers paired Bridgestone with Firestone in 12 of the 16 times Bridgestone was mentioned.

* Dealers paired Michelin with BFGoodrich in 15 of the 20 times Michelin was mentioned.

* Two of the top 25 don't sell any of the three major brands -- or their associate brands, either.

* Eleven of the 25 sell all three brands.

* Every dealer who sells Goodyear also sells Michelin.

In fourth place was BFGoodrich, which is sold by 15 of the top 25. Not a single dealer sells BFGoodrich without selling Michelin. Rounding out the top five brands is Yokohama, which is sold by 14 dealers.

Just for the heck of it, who is sixth? Continental, which is sold by 13 of the top 25.

For a look at all the brands sold by the MTD 100, check out the July issue!

Related Topics: Discount Tire, Major brands, MTD 100, Snider Tire, STTC, Tire Kingdom

comments

1. Cesar | July 12, 2010 at 06:01PM
   Hi Bob,
   
   Nice data to look into, if you would like to know where your brand stands..
   
   more power.....