CHARLESTON, S.C.—The Tire Alliance Groupe Ltd. (TAG) achieved record-setting results last year, laying the groundwork for continued growth in 2015, TAG President Paul Alves told members attending the group's recent annual meeting in Charleston in April
Among the highlights, TAG paid out record dividends to its members of more than $10.4 million in rebates and bonuses. Throughout the last two years, Mr. Alves said TAG has grown its tire purchase volume by more than 40 percent.
“Our growth is not only attributed to the existing members taking on more programs from our product portfolio, but also to the addition of key new members and new vendor programs,” Mr. Alves said.
Besides tire purchase volume, TAG also expanded its reach by adding two “strategic members,” according to the group. They are:
c Birdsboro, Pa.-based CJ's Tire Service & Automotive Services, which operates 13 retail locations throughout eastern Pennsylvania as well as a regional distribution network; and
c Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Midwest Tire & Muffler Inc., which operates seven retail locations in South Dakota under the TMA Complete Car Care brand and also has a wholesale distribution network supported by three warehouses in the Dakotas.
These members expand TAG's national footprint and increase the group's retail network to more than 2,000 stores, the group said.
Additionally, over the past year TAG added three tire programs: Hankook Tire, Vee Rubber and ITA USA (Achilles brand), which are in addition to the previous tire program offerings from Yokohama Tire Corp., Falken Tire Corp., Pirelli Tire North America Inc., Husky Tire (Blacklion brand), Fullrun Tyre (Autogrip brand) and Giti Tire (Runway brand).
“The new vendor programs have allowed TAG to offer our membership more variety and the ability to enhance their product portfolio through the group,” Mr. Alves stated. “We have been able to structure our programs as to maximize our buying leverage and power and have been able to increase rebate payments to our membership,” he said.
While TAG's growth has been strong, according to Mr. Alves, the group continues to look at expansion opportunities in markets where strategic additions make good business sense and strengthen the relationships TAG enjoys with its vendor partners.
Florham, N.J.-based TAG consists of 17 members spanning most of the U.S.