The retail venture is new, at least in the U.S. The people involved, however, have more than enough experience to make it successful.
The new initiative from the GfK Group, an 81-year-old market research firm based in Germany, promises to give tire sellers "long-needed marketplace intelligence to help them grow profits."
A familiar face is using his expertise to help promote the project. John Gamauf, who held dual titles of president of consumer replacement tire sales and vice president of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC when he retired in 2008, is consulting on the project.
"Only an initiative with the extraordinary benefits of GfK’s new panel could convince me to get off my bike, leave the golf course behind, and hit the road once more," says Gamauf. "With GfK’s aggregated national data, tire retailers in the U.S. will have access to the broad market knowledge they need to make smarter decisions about pricing, stocking, and loyalty programs.
"GfK's experience tracking tire sales in almost 30 countries globally makes it the ideal company to take on this essential service to the industry."
Like its established tire retail panels in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, the new U.S. panel will collect point-of-sale data from tire sellers and deliver back aggregated reports that give participating dealers an edge in understanding brand and features success, pricing by region, discounts offered, and key marketplace trends, according to the company. Custom reports from the data also will be available to manufacturers and retailers.
"No one has more credibility with tire retailers than Johnny, and his marketplace knowledge will help us optimize the benefits we deliver to retailers," says Neil Portnoy, managing director of GfK’s retail sales tracking team in North America.
GfK, one of the world's leading research companies with close to 13,000 employees, is in the process of bringing retail dealers on board to help with the project. For more information, visit www.gfk.com/us, or follow GfK on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GfK_en.
