Gills Point S acquires Hogan Tires of Maine

HOULTON, Maine — The Eastern portion of Eric Gill's dealership has grown, adding Maine to the Point S dealer's footprint.

Gills Point S Tire & Automotive Service, headquartered in Portland, Ore., has acquired Hogan Tire Co. and its five locations in northern Maine.

The acquisition brings to 41 the number of locations operated by Gills Point S. The dealership already operates 10 other locations in New England, all formerly Vianor-branded stores acquired in August of 2021 from Finnish tire maker Nokian Tyres P.L.C.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Family-owned Hogan Tire operates two locations in Houlton and one each in Lincoln, Caribou and Presque Isle, Maine. Caribou is the most Northeastern city in the U.S., situated just 10 minutes from the Canadian border.

One location in Houlton is a retail shop while the other serves the commercial market.

Hogan Tire was founded in 1956 by Justin Hogan. Galen and "Cork" Hogan then operated the dealership upon their father's retirement, and in 2002 it was purchased by longtime employees Bill Higgins and Jody Anderson.

Higgins and Anderson will remain with the company, two of the 50 to 60 employees who work at the five locations.

Nicole Ferriter, director of marketing & customer experience for Gills Point S, said the stores were a nice fit for the model Gill seeks when considering an acquisition.

"Hogan Tire has a strong name in the communities they are in," she said. "They are really well known and well-run stores. Bill and Jody have done a fantastic job."

Ferriter said the issues from running a dealership from eight states away aren't as difficult as they were more than two years ago when the dealership acquired the Vianor stores.

"That was really a big jump," Ferriter said. "Now there's a lot more infrastructure built up over there to really support stores with what we built in New England. (Hogan is) coming in with strong locations, really strong infrastructure, too."

The closest current Gills' Point S store to a Hogan location is in Manchester, N.H, roughly four hours away.

"We just have to make sure we stay as present in the market as we want to be, which was one of the big things when we took on Vianor stores — really making sure those stores feel just as supported out there as the stores on the West Coast."

The stores will keep the Hogan Tire branding for the foreseeable future, but eventually they will be branded as Point S locations, according to Ferriter.

Gills Point S acquired four locations in 2021 (two in Billings, Mont., and two in Twin Falls, Idaho), and four more last year, all in Oregon (Raleigh Hills; Hasley; Lebanon; and Prineville).

More locations could be on the horizon, but Ferriter said the stores must fit the Gills profile. That includes:

• They should be well run with a great local reputation;
• They are located in smaller markets and must have a track record of success; and
• They must have a great team of employees.

"If it's a store that for a long time is struggling or hasn't been doing well, or doesn't have a good relationship with community, that's a tall ask to come in, take it over and it turn around," she said.

"We're not in the turnaround-store business. We're in the partnering up with successful organization, where we can come in and provide support in additional areas where they may not had have had support before."

According to Tire Business calculations, expanding to 41 locations puts Gills Point S in a tie with Dunlap & Kyle/Gateway Tire for 29th among independent retail dealerships, based on number of locations.

In the short term, Ferriter said Gills Point S will work on aligning Hogan's values with Gills.

"We are really excited to add them to the Gills Points S family we already have," she said. "They are doing such a great job, teaching us a thing or two. That's the ideal when you're working with new cluster of stores."