Ultra-high performance (UHP) vehicle owners are a different breed, according to Craig Dobrin, vice president of operations at Atlanta, Ga.-based Butler Tires and Wheels, which specializes in UHP tire and custom wheel sales.
“Their currency is time, rather than money.”
To sell a set of UHP tires to these time-pressed customers, you first need to have the tire in stock - or at least nearby, says Dobrin.
Asking the owner of a $200,000 car to park it at a store for three to four days while a salesman orders a new set of tires will demonstrate that “you clearly don’t have a specialty in this arena,” he asserts.
“When you’re dealing with a true UHP customer - when we’re talking with European sports car (owners) in the $200,000 or north vehicle market these (clients) have wants,” he continues. “They don’t necessarily have needs.
“They’re driving that car because they want the absolute best luxury experience.
“They want the best possible product on their vehicle and they want the most qualified individual to work on it.
“And they want somebody who’s going to do the job right the first time” — as quickly as possible, says Dobrin.
Stocking the right tires and sizes “is a moving target. And it changes every year. “It’s not just having the right size, either. Porsche has three or four different specs within the same size, the same category and the same tire.
“Within one tire, there might be 18 or 20 different versions of a tire!
“To predict what you’re going to need is challenging. Tires perform very different functions on very different vehicles (that have) very different drivers and we have to make sure we’re accommodating all of that.
“The UHP tire category has changed and become much, much broader,” adds Dani Freedman, vice president of marketing for Butler Tires and Wheels.
