Continental Tire the Americas LLC recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Gold Retailer program group with dealers.
The event, which included the roll-out of several new tires, took place in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Chris Charity, vice president of sales for Continental, kicked off the multi-day event by telling attendees he remembered being in the start-up meeting for the program two decades ago, discussing with other Continental executives how the Gold Retailer program would go to market and attract “really awesome dealers.
“They kept talking about gold. And I asked, ‘What does that mean?’ It means great opportunities for leading dealers. And that's where we started 20 years ago - by trying to find a really great program, go out and work with some strong partners and figure out how to grow our business together."
Charity said that despite challenges like the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, “we found ways to work together to find solutions and really, really grow this thing mutually. We worked together and really built this into one of the premier associate dealer programs across the industry. We've experienced a lot of growth - a lot of success over the years. We couldn't have done that on our own.”
Charity told dealers that the Gold Retailer program would not have lasted without honest feedback from its members. As a testament to the program, he pointed out that 17% of all current Gold dealers have been in the program for all of its 20 years.
Approximately 735 dealers qualified to attend this year’s meeting and 700 were in attendance, including 121 Gold Retailer program group members who were there for the first time.
Charity told MTD that in total, the program has about 2,500 dealers representing around 4,000 rooftops. Continental has signed 500 new dealers to the Gold Retailer program during the past year.
During the meeting, Charity addressed other topics, including the intended spin-off of parent company Continental AG’s automotive and ContiTech divisions. “All of these things that are coming means our business is starting to evolve a little bit and what you should know is over the next year to 18 months, the automotive piece is going to spin off. Something will happen with ContiTech and we will be back to a tire company focused on tires (and) focused on growing the business.
“Not a lot's going to change. We've been doing a really good job on this for the last 20 years with the Gold program and we're going to continue to do it, and I will say, as a company, we will have even more focus around tires.”
Products and partnerships
Ron Sinclair, director of sales for Continental’s distribution channel, outlined key products and programs that the company has provided during the past year.
He pointed to the launch of the Continental TrueContact Tour54 and the General Grabber H/T, along with the General Tire Shield+ Advantage Plan, which is a warranty program similar to the company’s Continental Total Confidence Plan.
Sinclair told the assembled dealers, “We rely on you, our Gold dealers - our Gold distributors. We don't have a company-owned distribution program. We don't have company-owned stores. So our investment and our focus is back on the Gold program through our Gold distributors. It's a critical element of our business strategy.”
The company has sharpened its focus on marketing, Brian Beierwaltes, head of marketing for Continental, told dealers. “At the end of the day, we have to make sure that what we're doing has a return on investment and is helping us and you sell tires and that is core,” he said.
Beierwaltes said Continental is “doubling down on soccer sponsorship.” The company been a part of Major League Soccer (MLS) for 15 years. He said Continental’s contract does not allow for any other tire brand to be part of MLS.
Beierwaltes did tell MTD that the company has dropped its NCAA Basketball sponsorship for this year and is dropping its General Tire sponsorship of Major League Fishing, but is keeping its sponsorship of ARCA racing sponsorship.
Continental is introducing two new tires to its lineup in 2025, Bjoern Glaeser, head of product management for Continental, told dealers. The first new tire is the Continental SecureContact AW, an all-weather touring tire designed for passenger vehicles, CUVs and SUVs.
The tire has an asymmetric tread pattern and will come in 50 sizes, fitting wheels ranging from 15 inches to 20 inches in diameter, with aspect ratio from 40 to 65 and speed ratings of H- to W. The H and V-rated iteration of the tire will come with a 60,000-mile warranty, while the W-rated version of the tire will have a 55,000-mile warranty.
The Continental SecureContact AW features Continental’s ECOplus technology, is EV- compatible and meets 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake requirements. Glaeser said the tire will be available Aug. 1.
Also launching on Aug. 1 is the Continental VikingContact 8, a winter touring tire for passenger vehicles, CUVs, SUVs and light trucks. It will be available in 86 sizes fitting wheels from 15 inches to 22 inches in diameter, with 40-70 aspect ratios. It features a directional tread pattern and utilizes Continental’s PolarPlus technology. In addition, the tire is EV-compatible, has earned 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification and meets Ice Grip certification requirements.
Continental is adding one new product to its General lineup, a product for law enforcement applications. The Grabber Justice A/T has been designed to fit the Ford Responder on its F150 platform. It will come in one size: LT265/70R18 113H.
Glaeser told attendees that both the Continental and General tire lineups cover 95% of all current vehicle fitments in the U.S.
In addition, Debbie Richards, head of programs and planning for Continental, announced the launch of a new trade association program that Gold dealers can utilize. Continental is making exclusive offers through Neighborly, she noted, adding that Neighborly is recognized as a preferred vendor for a number of trade associations. Most of the trade associations mentioned utilize light-duty trucks and vans. Richard says these associations represent a total of 270,000 vehicles operating on the road.
Next year’s Continental Gold Dealer trip will be held March 16-20 in Costa Mujeres, Mexico.
