MTD Mid-Year Q&A: Mathis Discusses Atturo's Strategy

Atturo Tire Corp. is focused on expanding its dealer base and introducing the Atturo brand to more consumers, says Michael Mathis, the company’s president.

MTD: Can you bring us up to speed on Atturo's business so far in 2025? What have some of the company's challenges and achievements been?

Mathis: The first half of 2025 has seen continued success for Atturo. While the second quarter brought some headwinds, overall sales were higher than the same period last year. Obviously, there are challenges with the tariffs and overall economic situation. The light truck category continues to be Atturo’s most popular. We are seeing substantial growth in the performance tire category. Our latest tire models in the all-weather category are gaining fans among dealers as they learn how versatile this type of tire can be at meeting their customers' needs.

MTD: What's your assessment of the U.S. consumer replacement tire market right now? What has demand been like?

Mathis: My assessment of the consumer tire market is that it has slowed down modestly. Atturo’s position as an upper tier-three brand is still where the action is as consumers are value-conscious buyers today. I am reminded of early-2022 as actual inflation accelerated and volume slowed down. Today, it is the fear of inflation which seems to be making consumers hold back on spending. This is largely driven by the news cycle focused on tariffs. While the tire industry has faced higher duty rates since May, overall consumer prices for tires have not increased substantially so far. We are hearing that there are more sales of one to two tires, rather than the full set. As we saw in the last part of 2022 and then into 2023, that is just delayed demand for more tires.

MTD: Atturo has continued its strategy of building out and broadening its product range into other segments. How is this effort playing out and why is it important to both Atturo and your customers?

Mathis: As I mentioned in opening, our new models targeting passenger and performance vehicles are generating growth and exposing the brand to a new group of consumers. While the SUV/LT segment is still the largest for Atturo, these other areas are valuable. This will improve our engagement level with dealers by expanding our coverage to the majority of top sizes in every area. It also keeps the Atturo name in front of dealers, no matter what vehicle they are servicing.

MTD: Will tariff actions imposed by the Trump administration change Atturo's product sourcing and/or manufacturing footprint or strategy?

Mathis: The uncertainty of the tariff process is a challenge. However, we have never sourced our tires solely on chasing low-tariff countries. As we have seen, that is a never-ending game. Atturo is more focused on working with great manufacturers as partners. We have some of the best- performing factories building our tires and have no reason to change at this time.

MTD: Atturo continues to invest in sports marketing, most recently establishing partnerships with the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks. Why has the company ramped up its sports marketing efforts and how do you believe this will help your distributors and dealers? What are your goals for these ongoing investments?

Mathis: The continued pace of increased brand awareness among consumers is reflected in the growth of visitors, engagement and followers across our digital platforms. Sports marketing is a part of our overall strategy and helps elevate the Atturo brand by placing it alongside other nationally recognized premium brands. No other private brand comes close to the scale of Atturo’s national marketing campaigns. It is a distinguishing feature of the value of the brand.

MTD: Regarding Atturo's dealer strategy, last year you told us that Atturo isn't "so much focused on being the volume leader with our distributors as much as we want them to look at Atturo as one of their margin leaders." Is this still the case and why has this been a successful approach for Atturo?

Mathis: The independent tire dealer is the most important person for Atturo. Atturo seeks to have a great relationship with our distributors and dealers by providing them with a great tire at a price point, where they can earn an above-average margin while delivering a tire to the consumer which outperforms its price point. We are on the ground working with dealers and building digital systems to support and engage them. One recent update to Atturo’s website is a feature where every dealer in our system has their own custom web page at Atturo.com. This helps identify them as an authorized Atturo dealer and drives traffic to them from consumers searching for Atturo tires in their area. By engaging with dealers and supporting their margins, we will build trust and partnership that will naturally lead to more volume. I believe this is a more enduring path than attempting to force unit volume goals on a dealer. I look forward to the second half of 2025. I believe there is pent-up consumer demand for tires. The consumer is just waiting for some positive political-economic news to release their positive sentiment. Atturo remains focused on expanding our dealer base, adding new sizes and introducing the Atturo brand name to more consumers.