Royal Tire is Now Fountain Tire

Northern Ontario’s tire and automotive service retail sector is undergoing change as the region’s eight Royal Tire locations are being re-branded under the Fountain Tire banner.

The conversion to Fountain Tire affects Royal Tire’s consumer and commercial tire locations in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins, Marathon, Huntsville, New Liskeard and Wawa.

Fountain Tire, with 163 locations, entered into a strategic 50/50 partnership with Royal Tire in July of 2012.

Since its founding in 1983, Royal Tire’s associates have excelled at serving the tire and automotive service needs of consumers and commercial tire accounts in the trucking, logging and mining sectors.

“The expansion of our brand and business model into Northern Ontario is a tremendous opportunity for growth and shared learning,” says Fountain Tire’s vice-president of marketing, Nelson Tonn. “The collaborative partnership we have forged with Royal Tire associates is a perfect fit in terms of our shared values of local ownership and concern for the well-being and success of our customers, associates and communities.”

The conversion to the Fountain Tire banner is expected to be fully completed by the end of January.

“The signs are changing, but our commitment to exceptional customer service remains the same as does our management staff and service technicians,” says Gary Foley, director of corporate sales, Fountain Tire. “Customers will deal with the same team they have come to know and trust. The ‘Royal Treatment’ our clients have come to trust has not changed.”

Fountain Tire’s collaborative partnership with Royal Tire is based on shared values and expertise as well as an entrepreneurial business philosophy. Royal Tire is now transitioning to Fountain Tire’s shared ownership structure in which store managers who demonstrate superior service are offered a 50% stake in their operation.

“We share Fountain Tire’s belief that managers who own equity in their location are more highly motivated to surpass customer expectations,” says Phil Shaw, director of operations, Fountain Tire. “This entrepreneurial approach is good news for customers in that it allows us to attract the best and brightest people and create the conditions in which customer experience can flourish.”