Falken to push 'Azenis' as performance ID

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (Feb. 3, 2014) — Falken Tire Corp. is setting up a customer service team dedicated to establishing its Azenis line of tires as the company's ultra-high-performance identity.

The customer service initiative will be carried out by "Team Azenis," a group of sales representatives tasked with helping Falken's dealers become more educated in selling high performance in general and the Azenis brand in particular, the firm said.

"Team Azenis will be a critical tool for our success in 2014," according to Andrew Hoit, Falken's vice president of marketing, who said the project will complement Falken's sales force in the field.

"We realize our customers need a unique business support program now more than ever, and we have designed Team Azenis to be the ultimate support mechanism," he said.

Tire Business file photo

Andrew Hoit, vice president of marketing, Falken Tire Corp.

Falken did not say how many sales reps would make up Team Azenis, but a spokesman said the concept is similar to what BF Goodrich Tire did in the early 1990s with its "Team T/A" concept. Team members will be considered "brand ambassadors" for the Azenis line, he said, and thus will undergo training throughout the year.

Among the initiatives Team Azenis will undertake will be ride-and-drives for dealers, the Falken spokesman said, along with other brand image-building exercises.

Parallel to establishing Team Azenis, Falken will be focusing on its entire range of passenger/light truck products, the company said, including the Ziex, Sincera and Eurowinter passenger and Wildpeak light truck lines.

Falken said the Azenis products began their existence with the automotive enthusiast in mind and later evolved into a recognizable brand of its own.

Falken lists three Azenis fitments on its website: Azenis FK453 UHP tire in 17- to 22-inch rim diameters; Azenis PT722 A/S UHP all-season touring tire, available in 16- to 22-inch rim diamters; and Azenis RT615K street-legal motorsports performance and a DOT-approved track tire, available in 21 sizes from 14- to 18-inch rim diameters.Falken is a subsidiary of Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

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