A Supreme Court Justice once observed that “the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle. It is the pendulum. And when the pendulum swings too far in one direction, it will go back.” This pendulum swing may be happening right now with regards to corporate profits and employee wages.

Michael McGregor says he always thought Sears Auto Centers had great, untapped potential. But he wanted an insider's view of what happened to the chain, so he asked a couple of former Sears executives who were there.

As investment bankers, we are often called upon to act as advisors on things like market timing. In other words, when is a business ready to go to market and what kind of reception will the business get once there? 

Michael McGregor breaks down the benefits he sees in mobile tire installation. He says the pioneers in the space seem to have a lot of mutual respect for each other and are sharing ideas as they build this industry segment. But they're also doing it their own way.

Joe Tomarchio Jr. is the original “Mr. Tire,” co- founder of the company that was sold to Monro Inc. in 2004. Since then he's been a special adviser for acquisitions at Monro, and in that time, he's been a part of more than 60 sizable deals and has watched Monro triple in size. No one has more acquisition experience in the tire and service business than he does and he talked to MTD in this exclusive.

Increasingly, we all need to be looking at how the impact of new entrants or new combinations in the tire industry may change valuations in the future.  

It’s always true that the owners of a tire-related business know everything about their particular business, while the parties looking to buy it know very little. Whether you are a tire retailer, a commercial tire dealer or a wholesaler, it helps to treat potential buyers as if they were your customers.

Experienced, key people are worth their weight in gold and tire dealers need to do all they can to keep them. 

Darren McLea was perplexed. As the third-generation general manager of his family’s five tire stores in Sonoma County, Calif., he was feeling the pressure to open his company, McLea’s Tire, on Sundays. But he was already struggling to staff his high-volume stores the six days they were already open. 

This year and the last one saw continued growth among many large, strategic players like Monro Inc., GB Auto Service Inc. (now Sun Auto Tire & Service Inc.), Mavis Tire Express Services Corp. and others. With all of this activity, one wonders if these and other big operators will ever run out of acquisition or greenfield opportunities. 

As commercial tire dealers look to enhance their business values into the same stratosphere as retail tire dealers, some are looking at integrating the more profitable elements of retail business into their commercial operations. From a customer retention and profit perspective, this makes perfect sense. 

Are mergers and acquisitions still going on during this very strange time, you ask? The short answer is yes.