Jake Miller, owner of L&M Tire and Wheel, a single-store dealership located in Abbottstown, Pa., says he has learned how to utilize the constant change and evolution in the high performance (HP) and ultra-high performance (UHP) tire market to make his company more successful.
However, he also says that part of L&M Tire’s success comes from being “in the right place at the right time.”
Falling in by default
Miller’s father started L&M Tire by selling used cars out of his house.
When another dealer mentioned he could make more money selling hubcaps and parts, Miller’s father started doing just that in 1987.
“My dad had acquired a lot of parts, being a used car salesman, and one day he just put all the tires and parts he had out for sale and people bought it up,” says Jake.
Then the dealership was approached by American Racing about selling its brand of wheels and that is how Miller and his family got into the custom wheel market.
Throughout the early 1990s, L&M Tire only sold used tires sourced from its used car lot.
Bergey’s Tire then offered the dealership an opportunity to sell Delta brand tires.
“We had no real knowledge or experience on speed ratings or plus sizing,” says Jake.
“It was all very basic, but we just continued to grow. Dad just wanted to buy product and grow, which brought us to the mid-’90s.”
Around this time, Jake says he started seeing vehicles like Honda Accords or Maza Miatas that were “fuel efficient and popular among young drivers.”
The market was good at this point in time. Young drivers wanted to put wheels on their vehicles and their parents had the extra money to spend on them.
At this point, Miller’s dad hired a car enthusiast to keep up with the wheel trends.
“This was the first time I had heard of a consumer being described as a car enthusiast,” says Jake.
“A car enthusiast was somebody who really wanted to modify their vehicle” beyond original equipment.
“They want to be different and wanted their personality to be seen on their car.”
Jake acknowledges that options for other car modifications were limited in those days and “wheels were king.”
As a result, L&M Tire was buying “tractor-trailer loads of custom wheels.
“We found out that these car enthusiasts talk to each other a lot. They would have car shows and ask each other where they got their car mods done at. So, word of mouth became huge for us.”
Fast and Furious
“My dad always said, ‘The trend is your friend,’” says Jake, “and the trend of modifying your car was on fire — especially after 2001 when the film, ‘The Fast and the Furious’ hit theaters.”
The movie sensationalized car customization and “boosted its popularity” to customers.
During this time, Jake says “all these crazy aftermarket modifications” became popular, spurred on by trends that started in California, like the tuner craze.
Suspension upgrades, switching stock headlight bulbs to LED lights, mufflers “with that loud, signature noise” and other modifications were all part of it.
“But as we know, (as) with bell-bottom pants, those trends get so popular they burn themselves out,” he explains.
“And the 2008 stock market crash happened and kind of halted the vehicle modification market.
“Now, wheels weren’t king anymore because people didn’t have the excess money for those, but they still wanted to add personality to their vehicle. That’s when we started really focusing on HP/UHP tires.”
“2008 changed everything for us,” says Jake. “For us, the wheel market fell out and the tire market grew.”
Jake recalls that L&M Tire bought “hundreds upon hundreds” of size 205/40R17 tires.
His dealership became more knowledgeable about selling HP/UHP tires and realized that speed ratings are “crucial. If a manufacturer calls for a V-rated tire and you drop below that, you’ve just reduced the ability of the vehicle to handle properly.”
Jake says HP/UHP tire customers are different than typical retail customers because they have more information and specifications on what they want.
“When purchasing a high-performance or ultra-high-performance tire, your decision cannot be based on price. It must be based on speed rating.”
This is something he continuously educates customers on when they come into his shop.
“We always want a positive outcome, but understanding what it is the customer wants and how we can get that to them without sacrificing everything for the purchase price is a big concern.”
New ‘word of mouth’
In 2016, Jake bought the company from his father and started experimenting with social media, which is “a huge component of selling if you do vehicle mods or sell HP/UHP tires,” he says.
Jake says that social media, as a marketing tool, “doesn’t have any rules.”
He found that social media brings customers to L&M Tire’s website and the website brings customers into the dealership.
“Smartphones have revolutionized the market and if you want to be relevant in this market — or any retail market — you have to understand how to use social media,” he says.
Jake took his own advice to heart and hired more people who understand and utilize social media better than he does.
“When we first did it, (social media) it was horrible and confusing,” he laughs. “There are no rules to it. You can upload a video of a dancing cat and get a million views.”
Jake says the team that handles social media for L&M Tire recently approached him last week, saying they needed three jars of strawberry jam.
“I looked at her and said, ‘How is jam going to promote a tire and wheel dealership?’ but she just said it’s for a Tik Tok (video) and to do it, so I got her the jars of jam.
“Next thing I know, I have three of my techs dancing to the song, ‘Pump Up the Jam,’ while literally (placing) these jars of jam up on car jacks. It was a hit!”
Jake, who is 46 years old, says he has noticed that younger tire buyers are more experience-motivated. It’s the job of his team to find out what experience they are looking for.
“Whether it’s adrenaline, experience of the outdoors or something else, we are asking how we can get your vehicle to that destination for you to experience what you want to experience.”
“Our biggest joy in this whole thing has been customers walking in with an idea and vision they want for their vehicle and us being able to create that vision and package for them,” he says. “It’s the best to watch their expressions as their vehicle rolls out of the bay.”
The customers show off their new car modifications on social media, which gives L&M Tire an opportunity to reach more customers.
Miller says that in order to stay up to date on current trends in the market, he assigns his people to focus on trends.
“It’s a moving and revolving platform that is always changing and so to be relevant, you need to have somebody on it more frequently,” he explains.
