Dealers Talk Profitability at CTDA Meeting

Boosting revenue and profits through add-on parts and service was a popular topic during the California Tire Dealers Association’s (CTDA) recent meeting in San Diego, Calif.
March 16, 2023
2 min read

Boosting revenue and profits through add-on parts and service was a popular topic during the California Tire Dealers Association’s (CTDA) recent meeting in San Diego, Calif.

Mike Hudgens from Mighty Automotive, who is retiring after a 40-year career, delivered the event’s keynote address.

"Mike’s presentation was on increasing revenue and profits through add-on parts and service,” says CTDA President Chris Barry, who also is vice president of sales for the Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC.

Hudgens' speech "sparked many questions,” says Barry, who adds that all of the tire retailers in attendance “were open to doing more mechanical business going forward.”

Scott Highfill from Penn Tire, who helped organize the San Diego meeting, also “spoke about the thrills and not-so-many thrills of selling your business,” according to Barry.

Highfill owned Great Western Tire and Lutz Tire in San Diego, before selling his business “many years ago.”

Gary Tillery, former owner of Tire Depot, which was based in San Diego, spoke about the benefits of CTDA membership.

“With a direct voice in Sacramento (California’s capitol), the CTDA has a legislative person on call at all times,” notes Barry, who adds that the CTDA is a member of the Tire Industry Association, “which helps us on a national level.”

“We would like to thank our sponsors for San Diego, American Factory Wheel, National Tire Warehouse and Great Western Tire.” 

About the Author

Mike Manges

Editor

Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer’s editor. A 28-year tire industry veteran, he is a three-time International Automotive Media Association Award winner, holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors and was named a finalist for the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Award - often referred to as "the Pulitzer Prize of business-to-business media" - in 2024. He also was named Endeavor Business Media's Editor of the Year in 2024. Mike has traveled the world in pursuit of stories that will help independent tire dealers move their businesses forward. Before rejoining MTD in 2019, he held corporate communications positions at two Fortune 500 companies and served as MTD’s senior editor from 2000 to 2010. 

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