Skip to main content
EVENT TRACKER
Keep track of rescheduled, canceled industry events with our COVID-affected event tracker - Powered by Snap Finance
Close
Sister Publication Links
  • Rubber & Plastics News
  • European Rubber Journal
tb-logo
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • OPINION
    • CORONAVIRUS
    • AUTO INDUSTRY
    • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • FACTORY FIXES
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • INTERNATIONAL
    • MOTOR SPORTS
    • NEW PRODUCTS
    • RETAIL TIRES
    • SERVICE ZONE
    • SEMA/AAPEX
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • COVID takes dealers for roller-coaster ride
      A year later, pandemic's full tire industry impact unclear
      Tire Cologne canceled; rescheduled until 2022
      New round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opens
    • DTM switches horses mid-stream; awards race tire contract to Michelin
      Icahn Auto trims fiscal 2020 operating loss despite 14% lower sales
      Oshkosh unit gets contract for new USPS local delivery vehicle
      Sumitomo adds treadwear-detection to 'Sensor Core' toolkit
    • F1 extends Pirelli's supply contract through 2024
      Titan eyes solid recovery in 2021 as ag sector rebounds
      4 Wheel Parts celebrates 60th anniversary with deals, promotions
      CarAdvise partnering with RepairSmith mobile repair services
    • Goodyear joins connected mobility pilot program in Ohio
      Michelin launches high-scrub, weight-sensitive X One Multi T trailer tire
      TRAC Intermodal redirects retread biz 100% in-house
      Giti rolling out range of GT Radial-brand urban/regional truck tires
    • USTMA joins coalition supporting passage of Equality Act
      McMahon's Best-One increases its minimum wage to $15
      Oshkosh unit gets contract for new USPS local delivery vehicle
      Conti recalling 94,000 Conti-, General-, Barum-brand LT/SUV tires
    • F1 extends Pirelli's supply contract through 2024
      Maxam adding multipurpose radial, solid OTR tires
      Goodyear names Patterson to lead Cooper integration efforts
      DTM switches horses mid-stream; awards race tire contract to Michelin
    • F1 extends Pirelli's supply contract through 2024
      DTM switches horses mid-stream; awards race tire contract to Michelin
      Bridgestone World Solar Challenge canceled due to pandemic restrictions
      Pirelli, Goodyear ink sedan racing series contracts in Canada, Europe
    • Snap-on debuts Triton-D10 diagnostic tool with scan, lab scope capabilities
      Maxam adding multipurpose radial, solid OTR tires
      Michelin launches high-scrub, weight-sensitive X One Multi T trailer tire
      Giti rolling out range of GT Radial-brand urban/regional truck tires
    • COVID takes dealers for roller-coaster ride
      Investment groups to acquire Mavis Tire network
      Vogue Tyre offers $75 rebate on set of 4 tires during March
      4 Wheel Parts celebrates 60th anniversary with deals, promotions
    • Snap-on debuts Triton-D10 diagnostic tool with scan, lab scope capabilities
      Pennzoil offering carbon-neutral lubricants for passenger cars
      Washington dealership uses new-school solution for recruiting auto techs
      Marinucci: Customers may ignore dangerous conditions
    • TIA seeking nominations for Tire Industry Hall of Fame
      SEMA survey shows resilient auto aftermarket in 2020
      SEMA scholarships and loan forgiveness now available
      WTC hosting webinar Jan. 20 on load-capacity standards
    • SEMA survey shows resilient auto aftermarket in 2020
      Trade groups oppose minimum wage increase proposal
      New stimulus package fixes PPP loan confusion
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
    • Goodyear joins connected mobility pilot program in Ohio
      Titan eyes solid recovery in 2021 as ag sector rebounds
      Michelin launches high-scrub, weight-sensitive X One Multi T trailer tire
      Goodyear names Patterson to lead Cooper integration efforts
    • Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      Stocking Tires for Crossover SUVs
      Sponsored By AppointmentPlus
      Three Important Lessons Learned for the Tire Business During a Pandemic
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
  • SHOP FLOOR
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Video: Balancing Tire
      Safety tips for wheel balancing
      An introduction to wheel balancing
      Wheel weights: Balancing form with function
    • Video: Demounting
      Tire changer types, tips and trends
      How to clear rim rust and corrosion
      An introduction to demounting, mounting and inflation
    • Video: Safety
      Customers
      Considerations for shop safety policies
      Introduction: Creating a culture of safety
    • Video: Tire Repair
      Essential tools, materials and equipment for tire repair
      An introduction to tire repair
      How to properly patch a puncture
    • Video: TMPS Service
      The life-saving work of TPMS
      An introduction to TPMS service
      The importance of proper relearn procedures
    • Video: Training
      Internship ideas to attract tech talent
      Choosing the right auto service tech school
      Intro: Finding and training technicians
    • Video:Vehicle Lifting
      The gravity of proper lift points
      Safety essentials when using jack stands
      An introduction to lifts and lift safety
    • Video: Wheel Torque
      The importance of torque specifications
      Introduction to proper wheel installation
      Torque check and recheck recommendations
  • Multimedia
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • PODCASTS
  • Events
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Resources
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
  • Awards
    • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
January 14, 2000 01:00 AM

Canadian tire dealers´ problems mirror many of those south of the border

Miles Moore
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    TORONTO (Jan. 14, 2000) — Canadians enjoy a reputation for civility, particularly as compared with their brash American neighbors.

    In the Toronto tire market, however, all bets are off, as a large number of mass retailers, price clubs and independent dealers fight for the motorist´s dollar.

    When dealers gather in Toronto Jan. 26-29 for the quadrennial convention and trade show of the Tire Dealers Association of Canada, they will be in the midst not only of Canada´s largest metropolitan area, but also what many consider to be one of the most competitive tire markets in North America.

    Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., the Toronto-based retailing giant, is the main competition in the mass tire market, Toronto independent dealers agreed. But names well-known south of the Canadian border—such as Costco and WalMart—also are establishing themselves here.

    "Any consumer can phone 20 of us in this area to find out who has the best price," said Jamie Kelly, president of Ron Mitton´s Tire Service Ltd. in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario.

    "Toronto is probably the most competitive market in Canada," added Paul Hyatt, president of Superior Tire Auto Fitness Centres in Scarborough. "A lot of American visitors say it´s one of the most competitive in North America: Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto—the three toughest."

    Andre Picard, co-owner of Scotia Tire Service Ltd. in Mississauga, Ontario, characterized the local tire market as "dog-eat-dog," although circumstances are slightly different in the commercial tire market, the aspect of Scotia Tire´s business that Mr. Picard oversees. "On the commercial side, independents are the main competition," he said.

    Ralph Chiodo, president of Active Green + Ross in Mississauga, attributes the fierce Toronto competition to "a number of players constantly wanting to increase their market share and, in so doing, driving competitors down."

    While Canadian Tire and other mass marketers have the biggest impact on competition, auto service chains such as Midas Muffler and Speedy Muffler also are starting to carry tires, Mr. Chiodo noted. Even without them, though, the market would be tight. "The quality of tires is so good, they´re lasting so much longer, and nobody is willing to lose market share," he said.

    Along with the large number of players in the Toronto market, Mr. Hyatt sees basic changes in the tire industry as behind the fierce competition in his home town.

    "Many of our problems are universal," said Mr. Hyatt, a former president of both the Ontario Tire Dealers Association and the Tire Dealers Association of Canada who now serves on the executive board of the Tire Association of North America. "Competition is still competition, whether in a small town or a big metropolitan area. We grew up with it, developed our own niches. Many survive and do well; some don´t."

    Nevertheless, things are very different from the days when tire manufacturers served Toronto dealers directly, Mr. Hyatt said.

    "Manufacturers don´t have any passion any more," he said. "It´s a different industry. I think, too, that a North American economy is developing. There will be much closer ties between Canada and the U.S., with cross-border shopping and the Internet. Tire company policies will promulgate that.

    "Pretty soon, independents such as myself will be shopping in the U.S.," he added. "Instead of being cousins in the business, we´ll be brothers in the business. Today, it´s easy to plug in a few numbers and get tires shipped, whether from Akron, Montreal, Vancouver or Seattle."

    Asked how they could stand out from the crowd in such a vast and rapidly changing metropolitan market, most of the dealers contacted said what Mr. Picard did: "Service, service, service—more service, better service.

    "We´re a Michelin dealer, and that gives us the edge," he said. "Everybody has access to our product, but we have a sales force on the

    road that stops in and checks up on accounts. Location is a big factor for us, too—we have three outlets in Mississauga."

    Ken Simkins, Mr. Picard´s partner at Scotia Tire, agreed that service and inventory—the dealership carries more than 3,000 tires—are just as important for the company´s passenger and light truck business as for its commercial accounts.

    "We don´t try to compete on price," he said. "Instead, we appeal to the upper end of the market. We´re in a marketplace where we can afford to do that. We´d rather sell 10 tires and make $40 on each one than $20 each on 20 tires."

    For Superior Tire, "knowledge is our No. 1 competitive advantage," Mr. Hyatt said. "Between Canadian Tire and ourselves, we have all the tire brands, but they don´t have the people who know the sizes and the applications."

    Active Green + Ross´ management style gives it a competitive edge, Mr. Chiodo said. Twenty-five of its 30 stores are franchises, with "hands-on" owner-managers, he said.

    As for problems Toronto dealers face, most agreed that finding competent, motivated personnel is a major hurdle.

    "Getting qualified people is an ongoing challenge," Mr. Chiodo said. "We spend more time on that than we´d like."

    Some dealers said they deal with the problem by taking matters into their own hands. "You can´t get trained help, so I have my own training program," said Mr. Picard. "We train them from scratch—that´s the most efficient way to do it."

    Mr. Kelly said he also trains in-house. "When I hire new people, I teach them my way, or else it´s goodbye," he said. "We work as a team—I don´t have one guy do one vehicle."

    Nevertheless, it is difficult to get tire servicers to stay in one place, Mr. Simkins said.

    "The people we hire tend to be a very transient group, not long out of school and with no families to support," he said. "We try to keep them by treating them properly and not laying anybody off. But some of them still jump to the mass retailers when they find out they can earn more per hour there. We try to explain to them that when the slow periods come in those places, they´ll be laid off—but they won´t be (laid off) here."

    For Mr. Hyatt, "The No. 1 challenge is coping with change. We have regular meetings on coping with change. It´s a personal challenge to understand the relationship between dealers and their suppliers, and it´s difficult, because suppliers don´t really seem to understand it. Loyalty ceased to be an issue a number of years ago. Things just evolved that way."

    If the concerns of Toronto dealers seem identical so far to those of their brethren south of the border, there is one concern that seems much less pronounced in Canada than in the U.S.: government regulation. No dealer contacted expressed any fear of government edicts, whether national or provincial.

    "We´re a very clean operation, so we have no problem with regulations," Mr. Picard said. "Keeping your shop clean—I was the first one to push that. It reflects on your operation if you´re clean."

    In some cases, government regulations have been an aid to business, the dealers said. A prime example is Ontario´s "Drive Clean" program, which requires certification of cars registered in the province for safety and emissions.

    The Ontario Ministry of the Environment instituted the Drive Clean program in January 1999, Mr. Chiodo said. "We got on the bandwagon early, bringing new customers to our stores," he said. "All our 30 stores are licensed by the province to perform the tests and equipped with the necessary testing apparatus."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    tb-logo
    Reader Services
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • OPINION
      • CORONAVIRUS
      • AUTO INDUSTRY
      • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • FACTORY FIXES
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • INTERNATIONAL
      • MOTOR SPORTS
      • NEW PRODUCTS
      • RETAIL TIRES
      • SERVICE ZONE
      • SEMA/AAPEX
      • SMALL BUSINESS
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • SHOP FLOOR
      • BALANCING
      • DEMOUNTING
      • SAFETY
      • TIRE REPAIR
      • TPMS
      • TRAINING
      • VEHICLE LIFTING
      • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Multimedia
      • VIDEOS
      • PHOTOS
      • PODCASTS
    • Events
      • ASK THE EXPERT
      • LIVESTREAMS
      • WEBINARS
      • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Resources
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION
    • Awards
      • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award