Selling and servicing tires and custom wheels for the passionate, enthusiast-driven vintage and classic vehicle market isn’t easy. It’s a craft that takes special knowledge, a dedicated team and a foundational relationship with your customers.
Hank Feldman, president of Long Beach, Calif.-based Performance Plus Tire and Automotive Superstore, which opened its doors nearly 55 years ago, knows this well.
“This has been the only job I’ve ever had as an adult,” says Hank, whose father founded the dealership in 1971. “We’ve done it all.
“We started as an inner-city retailer, very heavily skewed to custom wheels. In these lower-income markets, their car is their prized possession and that’s where a lot of people spend their money. I learned the business very early on from that angle.”
Hank’s father had worked in the tire industry for nearly 10 years before he bought an auto and wheel business in Inglewood from a man he worked for and renamed it The Big House of Chrome.
As a new retail store mostly tailored to the custom wheel industry, things were up and running until tragedy struck just close to a week after opening. While in the city, Hank’s father was shot and rushed to the hospital. He survived the attack, but his long battle to recover left Hank and his mom to take on leadership of their store.
As Hank’s mom scrambled to help customers and manage the daily operations, Hank left school early each day to help their shop stay afloat.
Working to maintain the business was tough work. Eventually, after his parents divorced, Hank decided to take over the business instead of going to college.
The company found its footing through Hank’s leadership and eventually purchased Dave’s Home of Chrome, a wheel business in Compton, and changed its name to Performance Plus Tire and Auto, later growing the business to 10 stores throughout Los Angeles and Orange County that included wholesale and distribution centers.
Then came the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, which rocked Performance Plus to its core. Violence in the streets led to three of the Feldmans’ stores being burned to the ground and two stores losing their entire inventory.
“We didn’t go bankrupt, but we had a long road back to recovery from that,” says Hank. “We still catered heavily to the custom wheel segment of the business and the specialty side, but we shrank down to only a couple (of) stores.”
From there, Hank and his employees took time to breathe and rebuild. While operating two locations, they were able to slowly turn things around by organizing countless events and car shows and getting into the mail-order business, years before the advent of the internet.
A few years later, Hank’s mother passed away suddenly at age 59 while working at one of the stores. Forced to pick up the pieces and carry on, Hank continued running the business with his younger brother.
Through hard work and increasing their sales, they were able to pay back $4 million worth of debt and mitigate their leases.
Today, the multi-market dealership has formed a strong national connection, offering custom-made wheels, tires and accessories for vintage, hot rod and classic vehicles; trucks and off-road vehicles; muscle and sports cars and more.
Performance Plus Tire currently operates a retail operation, which generates $6 million in revenue a year, and a 30,000-square-foot ecommerce and distribution center in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The company also recently acquired Long Beach-based Lucas Classic Tire, “the oldest classic tire dealer in the country,” after Stan Lucas, its founder, passed away. Lucas became “friendly competitors” with Hank for years and wanted him to take over the business.
Performance Plus Tire also owns the famous Boyd Coddington wheel brand and the dealership has added exclusive U.S. distribution for two European tire brands.
Now, Hank works with his son, Dennis, the dealership’s vice president, and his second-oldest daughter, Paige, who works in purchasing and fulfillment. (Performance Plus Tire has more than 40 employees, including sales and customer representatives, technicians, installers and managers.)
A passion-driven market
The high performance (HP) and ultra-high performance (UHP) tire and custom wheel business — especially when it comes to the hot rod, vintage and classic car community — is highly specialized, according to Hank. To be successful, you have to understand the motivations of your customers, he says.
“A lot of these vintage car buyers are very passionate about cars and a lot of them have multiple cars. Some in other parts of the country have other properties and barns full of vehicles.”
Performance Plus Tire's showroom features more than 100 wheel displays and mounted tire and wheel sets and the dealership takes part in over 50 car shows and events across the U.S. each year, including get-togethers in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Daytona Beach, Fla., and across the West Coast. Hank uses these opportunities to showcase and sell his company’s products.
“We don’t sell (customers) what we have,” he says. “We sell them what they want. On our website, you can see the variety of products available. We get live feeds from suppliers across the country, so we know where the product is. If it’s not available locally, we can bring it in. We try to understand what the customers’ wants and needs are.”
While every customer has different aspirations, Hank says many come into Performance Plus Tire’s retail outlet armed with extensive classic car knowledge, which requires the dealership's sales team to be just as knowledgeable. Oftentimes, customers walk through the doors knowing exactly the kind of performance tire, custom wheel or accessory they’re looking for, he explains.
“Most of the older audiences are reliving their youth. They’re buying a car or replacing the car they had when they were growing up and want it to be exactly what they had. That audience is much more affluent than the younger crowds.”
Through its ecommerce and shipping channels, Performance Plus also does a large volume of business through online sales and sending products to customers all over the country. The company’s stocking strategy is focused on purchasing an enormous selection of products from suppliers across the country and world and being able to sell them at the best price point for their customers.
“We have a truck out in the field every day that picks up from all of our suppliers that come from our online and retail sales,” says Hank. “In the custom wheel business, there are so many SKUs just in one brand and one style because of fitments and sizes, so it’s virtually impossible to stock everything. It’s very challenging, so we try to keep the products that we really know turn over fast in stock. We carry a multi-million-dollar inventory between both of our warehouses.”
Products that are also highly popular among Performance Plus Tire’s customers include a variety of suspension kits, lift kits and electric steps for vehicles.
The rise of buying and selling online, plus car auctions and the influence of pop culture, in general, have helped grow the vintage and classic vehicle segment, according to Hank, but sales still fluctuate based on economic factors. “When the economy is good, everyone is selling custom wheels,” says Hank.
An inclusive philosophy
Continuing to stay involved in the community and give back to others in southeastern California is also crucial to the dealership’s mission.
For many years, Hank has been involved in numerous local organizations, and the store hosts an annual food drive for Thanksgiving every year with a car show. This tradition, which has been going strong for 28 years, has helped feed over 20,000 families and raised more than $50,000 last year alone, says Hank.
“Long Beach is one of the most diverse cities in the country. We try to cater to every ethnic group and the (local) colleges, because some kids in the city universities are homeless, so we give to local pantries.”
As Performance Plus Tire looks ahead to the future, Hank says he hopes to continue providing top-notch service and in-demand products, while being a leader in the classic, vintage and hot rod vehicle spaces — with his team by his side.
“We’re all about lifetime retention of a customer and we only do that by giving great customer service and delivering on what we promised,” says Hank. “The golden rule in my business is that you treat people the way you expect to be treated.”
About the Author
Aden Graves
Associate editor
Aden Graves is MTD's associate editor. A graduate of Kent State (Ohio) University's award-winning School of Media and Journalism, Graves holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and another bachelor's degree in communication studies.