Wholesale Tire Co. Inc. (WTC), up until late 2001 considered one of the Northeast's largest wholesalers and retailers, has closed its handful of upstate New York retail stores and is winding down all business activities, according to parties familiar to the situation.
Wholesale Tire executives could not be reached for comment. Calls to WTC's headquarters in Bayshore go unanswered, and the company's Web site is no longer on-line. Merchants in upstate New York cities where WTC had stores confirmed they are closed.
WTC agreed in December to sell the bulk of its retail business-18 retail stores in New York City and on Long Island-to Somerset Tire Service Inc., and a spokesman for STS said the two companies are ``working diligently to finalize the sale.''
At the same time, WTC relinquished its American Car Care Centers distributorship for the greater New York City area to Englewood Tire Distributors of Englewood, N.J.
WTC reported $80 million in sales in 2000, split about 60/40 wholesale/retail, according to a 2001 survey.
The company was founded in 1972 by Robert Lico as a two-person operation in Farmingdale, N.Y.