The Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC has formed an associate membership program for its dealers.
"As our current program continues to grow it has become evident that there is a need for a second tier program," says Ed Long, vice president of sales and marketing.
The ITDG Associate Program gives smaller-volume independent dealers the ability to:
* participate in a program with a smaller annual purchase requirement.
* join forces with a large group.
* grow into a full member of the group and earn annual volume bonuses.
"We anticipate tremendous interest in this additional feature of the Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC," says Long. "Offering most of the advantages of our program with reduced participation requirements should be very attractive to many smaller independent tire dealers."
"I feel it will be a program that dealers who have relied on a wholesale distributor for tires... can now have the opportunity to buy tires from a manufacturer or distributor at the most aggressive price out there," says Chris Barry, region director of sales and operations. "The associate dealer will now have 300 partners to help them with their business."
In a separate announcement, Long introduced a new tag-line for ITDG: "Growing Today for Independents Tomorrow."
The ITDG is comprised of 95 members (including 52 shareholders) representing approximately 300 retail tire and service centers in 10 western states. It also is one of the founding members of the Tire Alliance Groupe.
