Nokian Tyres plc says it wants to open 50 of its company-owned Vianor retail outlets in Russia during 2007 at the rate of one per week.
Russia was Nokian's highest-growth region last year, yielding a 70% increase in sales. The country and adjacent nations account for about 27% of the Finnish tiremaker's total global business.
Nokian already has 70 Vianor stores in Russia, plus a manufacturing plant outside of St. Petersburg.
There's been a tremendous proliferation of vehicles and vehicle types in Russia in recent years, which has significantly boosted demand for aftermarket tires, Nokian officials told moderntiredealer.com last week during a new tire introduction in Ivalo, Finland.
