Jon Rich, president of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s North American Tire operation, will outline his restructuring plan for North America during Goodyear's 2003 Dealer Meeting in Orlando, Fla., next week.
Also speaking to its independent dealer network will be Goodyear CEO and President Bob Keegan. The dealer meeting will be held Feb. 9-11.
Analyst Saul Ludwig, a managing director at McDonald Investments Inc., says it's a critical week for Goodyear, which is looking to assure its dealer network that it's back on track. In 2002 Goodyear lost market share, and faced backlash from some dealers angry with its price parity program and unsatisfactory fill rates.
Goodyear also is in negotiations with representatives of its principal bank lenders to get more liberal terms on debt coming due.
Modern Tire Dealer will be at both general sessions. Look for daily postings about what was said at the dealer meeting on www.mtdealer.com.
