On Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, the 1,000th Discount Tire store was opened. The milestone occurred in Phoenix, Ariz., on the corner of 23rd Ave. and Happy Valley Road.
"Reaching 1,000 stores is truly a testament to Bruce Halle’s dream and commitment to treating people right," said Lisa Pedersen, assistant vice president of marketing at Discount Tire.
With only six tires to his name, Halle, who was 87 when he died Jan. 4, 2018, opened his first Discount Tire store in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1960.
The company reached 200 stores in 1990 and 500 stores in 2002.
Halle was named Modern Tire Dealer's Tire Dealer of the Year in 2014. At the time, he had 887 stores in 30 states, and said he hoped to have stores in at least 40 states, not including Alaska and Hawaii.
Today the parent company, Reinalt-Thomas Corp., does business as Discount Tire (and America’s Tire in parts of California) in 34 states.
Discount Tire said it attributes its success “to the respectful, can-do attitude” that began at Halle’s first store, and is instilled in each of the company’s more than 20,000 employees.
”Bruce always said, 'Once we get to 1,000, let’s go open the next thousand -- as long as we stay true to who we are,'” said Pedersen. “We will continue to responsibly grow and honor Bruce’s legacy on which the company was built."
Also on Monday, Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire car in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, won his first race of the season, The Brickyard 400, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
