American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD) is reassuring customers it will be able to fill their needs for replacement tires following the news it will lose the Goodyear brand. ATD CEO Stuart Schuette outlined the company’s plans in a letter sent to stakeholders on April 24.
The text of the entire letter follows.
To our Valued Stakeholders:
At American Tire Distributors ("ATD") we have seen many changes to the tire industry over the past 80 years and have always succeeded by remaining focused on all of our customers, including small businesses, and the consumers they serve. Today, ATD is financially strong and the nation's premier tire distributor as well as the largest independent supplier of tires to the replacement tire market. We will continue to provide customers with more selection, wider and more timely availability and easy access to a complete package of tires, performance wheels and shop supplies.
ATD is in the business of making our customers more competitive in the marketplace and we strive to serve our customers better every day. We understand that our industry is evolving and that consumer behavior, as well as the way consumers shop for everything, is changing. Therefore, we are changing too, and ATD will continue to invest in and enhance our business in order to make sure that we are enabling our customers to best serve their consumers.
Importantly, our strategy focuses on helping the tire dealer survive and thrive in the digital era. We are more than just tire providers. ATD uniquely enables tire dealers to gain an advantage in a highly fluid marketplace with our offering of leading technology, sourcing, training, category management and insights to help tire dealers grow their businesses. We equip our customers with the tools to drive into the future with purpose.
With that in mind, we want to make sure that all of our stakeholders understand that despite the recent actions by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company ("Goodyear"), ATD is a strong company and will continue to serve our customers well into the future. As we have disclosed, in connection with its intent to form a joint venture called TireHub, LLC ("TireHub"), Goodyear notified ATD that it will no longer use ATD as a distributor going forward. Discussions between our companies are ongoing.
ATD is taking steps to meaningfully offset the potential impact of Goodyear's actions. We are working with several other original equipment manufacturers ("OEM") to develop enhanced customer support programs. We have also reached out to a number of our customers and have received substantial support from both large and small customers who appreciate the value of ATD's full suite of offerings.
It is also important to understand the strength of our underlying business. We supplied approximately 40 million tires in 2017 and going forward we will continue to be one of the largest tire distributors in North America. We have the financial resources to continue working with the OEM's and our other business partners as we always have.
In short, ATD will continue to win by taking care of customers – both big and small – by delivering products they need and supporting them in ways that no one else can. ATD has consistently offered unsurpassed breadth and depth of inventory, frequent delivery and value-added services. We will continue to compete for our customers' business each and every day with our rapid delivery network, dedicated sales specialists, industry-leading technology platform, state-of-the-art logistics and a variety of marketing support programs. We look forward to continuing to help our customers move Miles Ahead.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Stuart Schuette
Chief Executive Officer
American Tire Distributors
For more information on the TireHub joint venture established by Goodyear and Bridgestone Americas Inc., read:
"Goodyear Says It Will Be Better Off Following Its Divorce From ATD"
"Schuette Says Goodyear Is Dropping ATD as a Distributor."
"Goodyear and Bridgestone Form Tire Distribution Network: Tirehub."
"Wholesaling Tires: the Bridgestone and Goodyear Collaboration by the Numbers."
