Point S celebrates success at Owners Meeting in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Against the backdrop of the movie-making industry, the Point S USA dealer cooperative replayed its 2017 award-winning performance while previewing the script for what it hopes will be more successes over the next 12 months.

Nearly 500 dealers, vendors and guests attended the annual Owners Meeting, held Feb. 22-24 at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City Hotel. About 80 percent of all Point S dealers attended the meetings, which included a general session, a shareholders' meeting, product workshops and a vendor show featuring more than 50 vendors.

Among the attendees were representatives from Point S Germany, Point S Norway, Point S Canada and Point S North America. The company has 3,600 branded locations globally in 32 countries and four continents.

Point S dealers, vendors and their families also received a tour of Universal Studios, including an exclusive event held after park hours at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, as well as a celebration dinner at the renown Peterson Automotive Museum.

Point S USA CEO Walter Lybeck and his staff addressed the group about a variety of topics at the general session, not the least of which centered around the group's successes in 2017.

They include:

• The addition of 20 locations, increasing the Point S footprint to more than 210 locations in 16 states, accounting for a sales increases of nearly 500,000 units, worth $4.5 million;

• Growth of 8 percent in sales for 2017, as well as unit sales growth of 6.5 percent;

• The addition of a distribution warehouse in Memphis, part of a deal signed late last year with Memphis' Nussbaum Distributing Inc. to be its distribution partner for Point S member dealers;

• The continued conversion of Tire Factory stores to Point S; officials say more than 80 percent of all dealers have or are in the process of making the branding change; and

• Group Michelin becoming one of the Point S network's preferred partners, along with Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) and Camso Ltd. for its off-road and industrial lines.

"We attribute this success to to being able to bring our members unique programs and tools to position them for success," said Mr. Lybeck. "The Point S brand is contemporary and relevant in providing a better customer experience for our members, and it's the support we get from our Point S preferred partners that helps make that possible."

The partnership with Michael and Joyce Nussbaum's well-established distributing operation, which distributes tires within a 150-mile radius around Memphis, lays the groundwork for Point S to continue its expansion east, into Tennessee.

In fact, Mr. Lybeck said he expects a deal to be signed with a dealer in the state within the next six to eight weeks. Point S has hired one full-time employee in Tennessee and has temporary and contract workers stationed there as well.

Point S also revealed it had won the Prix D'Honneur Award, in recognition of the marketing group's "high quality" conversion of Tire Factory to Point S, as well as its "commitment to carrying the torch of the Point S brand across the U.S."

Officials from Point S also shared some of the initiatives that it is emphasizing over the next year. The Point S leadership team has set up committees to focus on three key areas: growth, technology and brand protection.

According to Eric Gill, chairman of the board and an independent tire dealer with 15 locations in Oregon, the growth committee is tasked with "making sure we continue to grow our company profitably, both within our budget and within our growth plan."

The Technology Committee, meanwhile, is putting the finishing touches on a dashboard tool that will make it easier for Point S dealers not only to sell tires online, but also to track their sales figures easily and compare them against other stores within the network.

The tool will crunch data gathered from sales to illustrate potential growth opportunities for the dealers as well as focusing on retaining customers.

In an effort to improve service to dealers, Point S said it is hiring a web coordinator position, whose responsibilities will include communicating with dealers consistently and serving as a resource to help tire dealers implement these online strategies.

The brand protection committee will emphasize three areas: the brand, the medium and programs available.

"I expect a more robust, a different way to look at our marketing calendar that kind of breaks away from the vanilla that we see across our industry," said Devin Barr, account director at MBT Marketing.

"I'm feeling really good about our plan, about being part of a winning team," Mr. Gill said.