En Englais: Prodynamics on building boom in Monterrey, northern Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico — Prodynamics, Yokohama Tire Corp's biggest dealer in Monterrey and one of the largest in the country, plans to open half a dozen stores in northern Mexico in 2016 after completing construction of its two new outlets in the region by year-end.

“Right now we're building two more stores, one in Saltillo that will open in the next two weeks and another near Monterrey airport,” Joel Cortés Sepulveda, CEO and founder of the Prodynamics chain, told Tire Business Nov. 5.

“Next year we'll open another five or six stores.”

Since starting Prodynamics 11 years ago, the 33-year-old Mr. Cortés — the holder of a master's degree in business administration from Mexico's prestigious IPADE business school — has opened 11 stores and one warehouse in the Monterrey metropolitan area.

The smallest outlet covers 4,300 square feet while the largest, which stocks 15,000 tires at any one time, 32,300 square feet.

“In this particular store,” said Mr. Cortes, referring to the larger of the two, “we sell between 150-200 wheels on a typical Saturday. We may have 14-15 ramps in operation simultaneously in December” — always a strong month for sales in Mexico.

Prodynamics offers suspension, brake, wheel and tire servicing primarily. Ninety percent of the business is non-tire, according to Mr. Cortés. “Right now,” he said, “we're selling about 1,000 wheels per month.”

The dealership also sells all major tire brands, with Yokohama accounting for 20 percent of the tire sales, Mr. Cortés added.

“The Yokohama brand is getting strong in Monterrey and across Mexico because together we (Yokohama and Prodynamics) are doing a very good job of marketing Yokohama as a high performance tire.”

Prodynamics, which employs 130, spends 2.5 percent of its sales on marketing, including radio, newspaper, Yellow Pages, outdoor and Internet ads.

Mr. Cortés said he started Prodynamics because of his automotive passion — specifically noting, “I like to fix cars and wheels.” His interest eventually extended to tires and even to the restaurant industry. He owns four restaurants in Monterrey, which is one of Mexico's three largest cities.

The restaurants, whose specialties range from sea food to Sicilian dishes, cater for up to 60,000 guests a month in total and they employ a staff of 270.

Stephen Downer is a Mexico-based freelance writer who covers that country and Latin America for Tire Business and its Latin America e-newsletter.