Saunders' Fairmount Tire celebrates 60th anniversary milestone

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — You could feel the love inside the International Ballroom of The Beverly Hilton March 17 as Fairmount Tire & Rubber Inc. celebrated its 60th anniversary with a party for 600 customers, tire dealers, suppliers, partners and friends.

It was, as Fairmount Tire President Brad Saunders described it, a gathering of the Fairmount family of dealers and "a testament of our loyal partnership, our strong relationships."

Relationships, he said, "are at the heart of Fairmount Tire. We consider you an integral part of the Fairmount Tire family," he told the crowd.

While the event's primary purpose was to recognize the milestone and thank everyone for their support over the years, the real star of the evening was his father, Fairmount Tire co-founder Jerry Saunders, who at 75 still has the vigor and enthusiasm of a young man opening his first tire store. The festivities included Mr. Saunders' close friend, singer Johnny Mathis, performing onstage, congratulatory remarks from suppliers Goodyear, Hankook and Kenda, and the presence of TV star, rapper and actor LL Cool J in the audience.

Yes, it was a tire- and star-studded affair.

Even Jerry's Saunders' 15-year-old-grandson, Jason Sraberg, got into the act, saying a few words about his "Papa Jerry" and his love for the tire business. "This is the best business," he said, "and I look forward to the next 60 years, when one day you will be buying tires from me."

But the celebration also had a decidedly business purpose. In his remarks, Brad Saunders talked about how the influx of technology is impacting the tire industry and the need for tire dealers to embrace and adapt to this evolving environment.

"It's not a question of if our business is transforming, it's just a question of when," he said. "The rapidly changing auto industry and the changing landscape of how people use their cars for transportation creates the greatest opportunity for the independent tire dealer. People will become more efficient users of transportation."

Citing a speech by Goodyear Chairman, President and CEO Rich Kramer, Mr. Saunders said four new consumer segments will emerge — what Mr. Kramer called the New Mobility Ecosystem.

These are:

• Fleets, such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.;

• Autonomous vehicles (cars driving on their own);

• Connectivity (cars connected to each other, connected to the road, connected to cell phones); and

• Electric vehicles (complying with future state and environmental regulations).

"As we look at the future of our business, we must analyze these new customer segments and find ways to serve all customers," Mr. Saunders said. "For example, the cell phone. Look at how it transformed our life. Consumers are using cell phones to buy tires. But ask yourself, can cell-phone buyers purchase from your store today?"

Uber, the ride-sharing platform, is another example, he said. It has high tire usage, but there is a question as to who will own these cars in the future.

Will it be national accounts or fleets, he asked.

"We must make sure we can service all customer segments, including fleets, car dealers, national accounts and government vehicles," he said.

To emphasize further the importance of technology for tire dealers, Mr. Saunders arranged a small tech fair during the celebration featuring vendors with easy-to-obtain-and-use tools designed to "keep your business relevant," he said.

They addressed five key areas for success in the technology area of the tire dealer's business:

• A best-in-class website, so customers can easily contact and locate the dealership;

• Point-of-sale software to help manage the business and track customer data and retention;

• A presence on sites such as Google.com and Yelp.com, "when customers need to find you";

• An active social media presence online and "in real life, managing your reputation and engaging in your community"; and

• A willingness to keep trying new stuff.

In an interview with Tire Business, the Mr. Saunders said he aims to embrace technology as vehicle mobility evolves while retaining the close relationships and partnerships built over the years with Fairmount's dealers and customers. This includes customers at its lone retail store in south Los Angeles, and its wholesale tire business, which operates in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.

"It's our goal to make sure our guys are successful and give them the tools they need in the future...," he said.

A key to Fairmount Tire's success over the years has been Jerry and Brad Saunders' willingness to help others.

Jerry Saunders won Tire Business' Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award in 1999 for his extensive efforts on behalf of others less fortunate in the Los Angeles area. But the two also are known for partnering financially with others, including, in some cases, helping people start their own businesses.

"Dealers that we have put into business, we partner with them some way financially in the business," Brad Saunders said. "We don't own their business. We help them with inventory; we help them with equipment, with the real estate."

Consider Israel Ortiz Ramirez, who was featured in a video aired during the celebration. Mr. Ramirez came to Jerry Saunders at age 20 saying he was ready to open a business, although he had little money.

Jerry Saunders knew of an available closed tire store and helped arrange a lease, even paying the deposit to get him started. "I told him I can pay you that money later," Mr. Ramirez said, "but he said, 'No, no, no, the money is nothing. Stay focused, stay happy and keep going.' "

Today, such partners, around 80 in all, are tied into the dealership in some way, Jerry Saunders said, and are part of the Fairmount Tire family.

But Fairmount also caters to retail customers at its thriving tire dealership on Los Angeles' W. Slauson Ave. Jerry Saunders' philosophy is never to let a customer walk.

"When I first started in business, I found out that if you handle no money, nothing sticks," he said. "The more money you handle, the more will stick. So I never let a customer leave. I make every sale. Nobody walks."

That might mean even giving away a used tire, but it makes a customer for life, he said. And to be certain customers leave happy, Jerry Saunders has a daily supply of cupcakes featuring the Fairmount Tire logo at his dealership that he hands out personally.

"My philosophy is we turn little round black hoops into green dollars and keep L.A. rolling.... That's my logo, and make everyone happy doing it."

The elder Saunders' passion for helping others was formed by his life's circumstances. Diagnosed with diabetes at age 10, he said he always was a little different. He couldn't play sports, and "girls didn't want to date me because I was a diabetic. Don't forget when I was dating was in the '60s. Diabetes is very common today."

Because he never had friends, "I value the relationship," he said. "Because I never had them, I value them and I take care of them, and it is so important to me. It's what I never had growing up. I never received love. I never received respect. No one ever had confidence in me. That's why I treat everybody with respect that I didn't have."

"Jerry always is looking out for his consumers and treating them the right way and remembers all those people, like him, who came from humble households. He always wants to take care of them," said Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president of automotive for American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd.

Even into his seventh decade of life, Jerry Saunders still goes to work each day at the retail tire store, doing it, he said, because he loves it.

"If I didn't have this business I wouldn't be alive," he said. "It's my life. Not the money, it's my life. This is my family. I invested 60 years of my life, and I have work. I have to protect it. Take care of it. Sixty years of my life."

And he continues to spread his good will at the retail store. "You know I treat every person, if they are my best friend, if it's my brother or sister, with honesty and respect," he said. "Make them feel good whether they buy a used tire or a $1,000 set of new tires. They are the same person. It doesn't matter. And I say thank you, and I give them a cupcake."