PHOENIX, Ariz. (Oct. 29, 2001)—Charlie Case Tire Co. announced it has signed a letter of intent to be purchased and merged with AM-PAC Tire Distributors, a Simi Valley, Calif.-based subsidiary of the Japanese trading company Itochu International. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Case Tire's president, Claude Case, and other executives of the 56-year-old Phoenix-based dealership will become employees of AM-PAC (American Pacific), which does business under the Tire Pros name. Both companies are members of American Car Care Centers.
Case Tire, with annual sales of about $50 million, has five wholesale warehouses in Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, N. M., and El Paso, Texas. It has also retail stores in Phoenix, Tucson, Casa Grande, Ariz., and El Paso. Ultimately, Case Tire's outlets are expected to adopt the Tire Pros name.
AM-PAC, which derived 85 percent of its $186 million in sales from wholesale operations in 2000, has 15 company-owned retail outlets and supplies tires to 212 franchised locations, most of which are in California and Alabama
Case Tire said it has worked closely with AM-PAC during its 10 years as a member of the ACCC organization. “We chose to team with them because we share a common philosophy dedicated to valuing our employees and providing excellent customer service. The extensive professional training their Tire Pros University will provide our dealers will enable them to enhance the consumer tire-buying experience, which we think already is one of the best in the nation,” the company said in a prepared statement.