Marks Leaves ITDG Primed For More Growth
“My job was to keep moving it forward,” an emotional Dave Marks, retiring president and CEO of the Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC (ITDG), said as he addressed the group's membership one last time at its annual meeting and trade show, which took place April 27-30 in San Antonio, Texas.
Just under 300 members and vendors attended the event.
Marks, who joined ITDG in August 2017, said the group has grown from 106 shareholders in 2016 to 122 shareholders in 2022, despite losing 20 shareholders due to acquisitions over the past three years.
During the event, Marks received high praise from members and vendors alike for leading ITDG through the COVID-19 pandemic and intense tire dealership merger and acquisition activity.
ITDG Vice Chairman Clay Miller of Mainstreet Tire in Colorado Springs, Colo., said that “Dave came on at the right time (and) the right place and made us all look good.”
MTD Publisher Greg Smith, while presenting an overview of the domestic tire industry during the event’s general session, praised Marks and said his leadership style reminded him of a quote from John Quincy Adams: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Marks believes ITDG is in good standing today.
“Although we lost eight shareholders in 2022 due to M&A activity, we added eight new shareholders the same year to replace them,” he said.
Total membership in ITDG has grown from 143 members with 607 total locations in 2016 to 167 members with 1,051 locations. Currently, there are ITDG members in 45 states.
Marks pointed to his “3-C’s” philosophy as a reason for ITDG’s success and for the group's sustainability moving forward. “I always wanted to make sure we were competitive, consistent and compelling.”
He said if a potential vendor was competitive, but not consistent, he would pass on doing business with it. “If something happens with one brand, we must pivot to another brand and be able to give our members what is needed.”
Since 2016, ITDG has seen its average eligible purchase per shareholder grow from $1.8 million to $2.7 million per year and the group’s gross purchases have grown from $211 million to almost $342.5 million, Marks noted.
All of this enabled ITDG to give volume bonus and dividend payouts of more than $13 million to its shareholders in 2022.
At the same time, Marks said ITDG reduced the number of partners/vendors it has from 92 to 70. This way, each vendor has been rewarded with increased volume.
Currently, nearly 74% of ITDG’s purchases are tires, with auto parts standing at 18%. Marks said that the group’s tire volume was down due to supply issues in 2022, but auto parts has been the fastest-growing segment for ITDG. (Due to the economic times, wheels and accessories have shrunk to under 4% of ITDG purchases.)
Rook now in position
During the event, incoming ITDG President and CEO Jason Rook, who replaces Marks, shared his thoughts about the group with MTD.
When asked what he wants ITDG members and vendors to know about him, he said, “I want members to know that I care about the group, I care about our mission and the idea of what we do is very important to me.
"I want them to know that I always have their best interest in mind and I will increase shareholder value with every move we make. I want them to know that I will explore every opportunity to move the group forward.
“I want our vendor partners to know that they should expect more from ITDG and that ITDG will expect more from them. I will continue with our more-to-less philosophy, which is pushing more volume to fewer vendors every year and letting them increase their piece of the pie."
Since being tapped for his new assignment, Rook has traveled to visit many ITDG members. MTD asked what he found out during those visits.
“In previous positions, I would talk to customers who had issues with employee retention, work quality and things of that nature. I don’t hear these complaints from ITDG members. I am learning from them and I am shocked by the level of commitment by all members.
“I have been terribly impressed by the innovation of their programs, by their community involvement and honestly, by their loyalty to the group. The things they do inside the group and the things they do for the group that don’t contribute directly to their bottom line, but build community, are very admirable.”
How will Rook measure success one year from now?
“One year from now, we’ll measure success by expanding the group, while keeping territories respecting our current footprint. We’ll expand while keeping our standards and ethics in place. We’ll increase our shareholder value, but we will never abandon the priority of ITDG, which is promoting the independent tire dealer.”
The view from Goodyear
During the ITDG general session meeting, Dan Gross, director, dealer retail, for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., said that “buying groups are an important part of the dealer retail channel at Goodyear.” (Twenty training sessions were held during the multi-day event.)
Gross said both Goodyear and its Cooper brand have long relationships with buying groups and will continue by working through their “aligned distribution strategy to determine the best way to drive growth within all of the dealer retail channel.”
Gross pointed to several factors that are impacting the consumer tire portion of the industry.
Channel shift; high-value-added tires, which are 17-inch diameters and above; electric vehicle penetration; the multi-channel consumer buying process, including use of the Internet; and industry consolidation are all changing how the industry is moving forward.
Gross said it is important for everyone not to lose focus as these factors continue.
He also told attendees that the power of the Goodyear and Cooper will help “drive business for our dealers.”
Speaking about how the integration of Cooper Tire into Goodyear has been progressing, Gross said the Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker was following its integration guiding principles. Gross added that Goodyear is looking to ensure the continuity of both businesses with a focus on the customer and is looking to do it with speed over elegance.
In addition, engaging and retaining talent from both organizations has been taking place, while Goodyear has been identifying, learning and adopting “the very best from Cooper Tire.” (Goodyear acquired Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. nearly two years ago.)
All of this, Gross said, was to exceed expectations on achieving the synergies.
Gross also spent time explaining Goodyear’s positioning of its seven brands.
He said the company considers the Goodyear brand as an omnichannel, flagship, prestige brand at the premium level of the consumer tire business, while the Cooper brand is a multi-channel, core flanker brand that is at the lower level of the premium segment and fills most of the mid-tier segment.
The company uses its Kelly and Mastercraft brands to straddle the low mid-tier segment and the upper level of the economy segment. Gross referred to those brands as “economy fighters.”
The Starfire brand fills the economy segment and gives Goodyear entry-level market coverage. Both the Mickey Thompson and Dunlop lines were labeled as specialty brands by Gross.
A night of awards
During the ITDG event’s farewell reception, several presentations were made to dealers. Of note:
- Each year, ITDG presents its Dealer of the Year Award to one of its members. For 2022, the award was presented to Youngblood Automotive & Tire of Austin, Texas.
- The Chairman’s Award was presented to Clay Miller of Mainstreet Tire.
Current board members of ITDG include Chairman Rob Slagle of Affordable Tire USA, which is based in Glendale, Ariz.; Mainstreet Tire’s Clay Miller; Secretary Peter Greenberg of City Tire in Springfield, Mass.; and Treasurer Dan Pearson of Northwest Tire in Bismarck, N.D.; plus directors Eric Ostendorf of Tiremaxx Service Center in St. Joseph, Minn.; Beth Barron of Chabill’s Tire & Auto, based in Morgan City, La.; and Bob Feldbauer of Jack’s Tire & Oil, which is based in North Logan, Utah.
ITDG’s next meeting and trade show is scheduled for April 24-27, 2024, at the Secrets Akumal, Riviera Maya, in Cancun, Mexico.