Demand for custom wheels has remained robust despite the impact of COVID-19, according to John Tak, senior director of merchandising for American Tire Distributors Inc. (ATD).
In fact, “with people staying home, they are buying wheels,” he says. “Our dealers are telling us they are as busy as ever on the wheel side. And our wheel business has been up significantly.”
ATD provided a deep dive into the wheel sector of its business via its recent, all-digital ATDWheels Virtual Open House.
The event, which was initially staged Oct. 21-22 and is available on-demand through Nov. 22, provides an in-depth look at the company’s ATDWheels portfolio, including new wheel styles for 2021, as well as ATD's digital wheel-selling tools.
Fifteen wheel brands - including TIS, Dropstars, Gear, Center Line, Motive, Cragar, Drifz, Konig, Pacer, Fittipaldi and others - are on display during the event, which also features a keynote address from ATD President and CEO Stuart Schuette.
“This is an event that we think is the beginning of something very special,” says Schuette. “It’s innovative and shows how we want to be on the cutting-edge of technology, new tools and new ways of thinking in our industry, so we can bring that to our customers and help drive their success.”
Attendees can view the recently enhanced ATDWheels Vehicle Visualizer tool, which gives customers a new and interactive way to choose and sell wheels "that meet any specification or preference."
Custom wheel sales training is part of the program, too.
More than 3,000 people attended the event’s initial offering in October “and eight out of 10 were independent tire dealers,” says Tak. “What’s interesting is that about two out of 10 have never sold wheels and were interested in coming here and learning more. They wanted to see what was offered."
The ATDWheels Virtual Open House has been well-received by attendees, says Tak. “Many of them enjoy the fact that the event is on-demand because they are so busy during the day. It allows them to attend during their off-time.”
When asked if ATD is planning to stage additional online events for 2021, Tak replied that while nothing has been set in stone, “we’ve gotten a lot of interest from the tire side of the business. They were all watching” the wheel event, which can be accessed here.