DESERT PALMS, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2004) — Goodyear Chairman and CEO Robert Keegan offered about 300 TBC Corp. private brand dealers seven reasons to have confidence in the tire maker's turnaround.
Speaking at the private brand marketer's dealer meeting in Desert Palms, Mr. Keegan said the main strategic drivers of the turnaround effort include: leadership, “cash is king,” lower cost structure, leveraged distribution, building brand strength, product leadership and advantaged supply chain.
Mr. Keegan also expressed Goodyear's commitment to TBC and the private brand business. TBC markets various private brands and operates two subsidiaries, Big O Tires Inc. and Tire Kingdom Inc.
“(TBC) is certainly strategic in our eyes,” he said, according to a statement. “And the balance that we strike across both branded and private branded tires make Goodyear strategic to TBC's future as well. We are playing only with the strong players. That makes good business sense. But where we play, we intend to win, and that includes private brands.”