D&K offers wholesale customers online help

ATLANTA (Feb. 2, 2017) — Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc. has engaged online marketplace developer TreadHunter Inc. to offer its wholesale customers the ability to add an online sales option to their web portals.

Dunlap & Kyle CEO Robert Dunlap said the TreadHunter marketplace solution "will allow our dealers and retailers to move easily onto an online marketplace to sell their tires and keep 100 percent of the 'tire profit.' Connecting consumers to the local store this way is one of the keys to future growth."

Atlanta-based TreadHunter describes itself as a national online tire marketplace that connects neighborhood retail tire stores directly to internet consumers, selling their inventory at their price.

"Working with Dunlap & Kyle is a great opportunity for both of our companies to bring an online tire marketplace solution to the enormous and fast-growing online consumer who prefers to shop directly online," TreadHunter CEO Greg Spence said.

The TreadHunter service allows customers to interact with the retail dealership to schedule appointments, etc.

Dunlap & Kyle's wholesale customers can access the TreadHunter service through a simplified registration, TreadHunter said. The process takes less than a minute, TreadHunter claims.

Once signed up, dealers receive automated inventory updates, mobile app and a seamless integration with inventory at Dunlap & Kyle's 17 warehouse distribution centers.

The agreement covers Dunlap & Kyle's retail tire dealership customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia, TreadHunter said.

TreadHunter was founded in 2012 by Greg Spence, a tech startup entrepreneur specializing in software, data center technologies, consulting and marketplace development. He's the firm's majority shareholder.

TreadHunter offer two levels of its service to dealers.

The standard package is free of charge and provides users with an online storefront that includes full tire inventory and pricing and allows customers to schedule and manage reservations and installations.

The premium package, which goes for $99 per month, allows unlimited tire listings, unlimited website traffic, access to the exclusive TreadHunter mobile app, a dedicated website domain, and custom reporting options to support growth.

The TreadHunter platform is Ruby/Heroku on Amazon web services.

Batesville, Miss.-based Dunlap & Kyle is one of the U.S.'s largest wholesalers, generating more than $500 million in sales in 2015. The company also has 58 retail stores operating under the Gateway Tire and Hesselbein Tire brands.

TreadHunter already supports more than 1,000 sell-side retail stores throughout 31 states. It anticipates ramping this up to 7,000-plus by year-end, based on the pace of registrations coming in, the company said.