In a letter to his retail customers, American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) CEO and President Stuart Schuette revealed that it would "no longer have access to distribute Bridgestone consumer products in the United States."
Bridgestone Americas Inc. issued the following press release to explain the move in more detail. Here is the release in its entirety.
"Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) is focused on giving consumers and the independent dealers that serve them more access to the full depth and breadth of our passenger and light truck product lines. Third-party distributors are an important part of Bridgestone’s consumer tire distribution strategy, and we are committed to prioritizing distribution partners that prioritize our company’s products and brands.
"As such, we will end our affiliate and associate dealer programs with American Tire Distributors (ATD) in the U.S., effective July 31. ATD will continue with the Bridgestone consumer tire delivery program in the U.S. for a period of time to ensure a seamless transition for customers.
"This decision is limited only to passenger and light truck tire distribution in the U.S. Bridgestone will continue to work with ATD to distribute commercial truck tires, ag tires and tubes in the U.S., as well as passenger and light truck tires in Canada through National Tire Distributors (NTD)."
Schuette was informed about the decision on Monday, June 25, 2018. To read Schuette's initial comments about the move, visit this link:
"Bridgestone Is Dropping ATD as a Distributor."
And to read ATD's official statement on the matter, plus how all this started, check out these links:
"ATD Says Bridgestone Decision Limits Consumer Choice."
"Goodyear and Bridgestone Form Tire Distribution Network: TireHub."
"Schuette Says Goodyear Is Dropping ATD as a Distributor."
"How ATD Is Planning to Offset the Potential Impact of Goodyear's Actions."
"Goodyear Says It Will be Better Off Following Its Divorce From ATD."
