Making more with tires

In the old days, they called it “TBA.” Tires, batteries and accessories were major profit centres for garages peddling everything from gasoline to hubcaps. But in the 21st century, Big Box retail and specialty shops have nailed down much of the business for fast moving services like exhausts, brakes and tires. Can independent general garages compete? In tires, I think the answer is a definite “maybe,” depending on how seriously the business wants to take the segment. Cheap offshore tires and the dominance of heavyweights like Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart will always decimate the bottom end of the market. But there’s a new game in town, namely TPMS. With the U.S. Feds mandating tire pressure monitoring systems on new vehicles, the days of relegating “tire busting” to the most junior guy in the shop may be over. The transmitters are lightweight, but relatively fragile, meaning an expensive headache if the mounting/demounting process is careless. In the near future, it may take trained and licensed techs to mount tires and reset the monitoring systems, with perhaps a code scan thrown in for good measure. The result may be a much more level playing field by reducing big retail’s ability to leverage young, entry-level employees to keep costs down.

Another factor is size proliferation. OEM’s have now spent a decade building vehicles with one-off or limited-run sizing, and as these vehicles come into the aftermarket, consumers expect off-the-shelf availability. As the number of sizes grows out of control (the Pirelli P6 Four Seasons tested in this issue is available in over 60 sizes!) The ability of consumers to get “while-you-wait” tires is decreasing. And if your customer has to special order anyway, you have a better chance of getting that sale as part of scheduled maintenance or related chassis work.

Yet another possibility comes from brand proliferation. With good tires coming out of Germany, France, Italy, England, the U.S., Japan and Korea, as well as here in Canada, consumers have lots of choices; options which often confuse more than help. There has never been a better time to grab an associate brand and make it your own, creating effective exclusivity in your territory and generating the perception that major retail doesn’t have every product, every time. Boutique tire shops? Why not?

Is there a downside for smaller operations? Low profile sizes on expensive alloy wheels as factory fitments mean expensive mounting and balancing equipment isn’t an option anymore. In addition, even smaller shops need productivity gains and upsell options in precision balancing and alignment, so the investment grows. Training also costs money as well as time.

The wild card in this scenario, of course, is the economy. With super cheap offshore tires springing up like mushrooms across the country, an economic downturn risks driving middle-class consumers into cheap product, a habit that can be hard to break. And by the way, if your customer arrives with fresh rubber in a brand you’ve never heard of before, check the sidewall of the tires carefully. There are unconfirmed reports of non-Transport Canada approved tires arriving by the container load into Canada, so look for the DOT stamp. If it’s not there, get a hold of Transport Canada and report the offending shop before they kill someone. And if you’re considering buying a load of tires at prices that seem too good to be true, examine them carefully and then think about your liability insurance. As licensed techs, you’re legally expected to know which parts are safe for the vehicle they’re installed on, so act accordingly.