ATD asserts its strengths in open letter to stakeholders

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seeking to reassure its stakeholders that it is financially strong and "unique" in the suite of services and products it offers, American Tire Distributors Inc. has published an open letter outlining its plan of action in the wake of Goodyear's decision to drop ATD as a distributor.

Among the actions ATD is taking to "meaningfully offset the potential impact of Goodyear's actions" is working with several other original equipment manufacturers to develop enhanced customer support programs.

The letter to stakeholders is signed by CEO Stuart Schuette.

ATD noted that it supplied approximately 40 million tires in 2017 and "going forward we will continue to be one of the largest tire distributors in North America. We have the financial resources to continue working with the OEMs and our other business partners as we always have."

Mr. Schuette also said the Charlotte-based company has "reached out to a number of our customers and have received substantial support from both large and small customers who appreciate the value of ATD's full suite of offerings."

ATD is in the business of "making our customers more competitive in the marketplace and we strive to serve our customers better every day." Mr. Schuette wrote.

"We understand that our industry is evolving and that consumer behavior, as well as the way consumers shop for everything, is changing. Therefore, we are changing too, and ATD will continue to invest in and enhance our business in order to make sure that we are enabling our customers to best serve their consumers."

In the letter, Mr. Schuette stressed that ATD's strategy focuses on helping the independent tire dealer "survive and thrive in the digital era.

"We are more than just tire providers," he wrote. "ATD uniquely enables tire dealers to gain an advantage in a highly fluid marketplace with our offering of leading technology, sourcing, training, category management and insights to help tire dealers grow their businesses. We equip our customers with the tools to drive into the future with purpose."

The letter concludes:

"In short, ATD will continue to win by taking care of customers — both big and small — by delivering products they need and supporting them in ways that no one else can.

"ATD has consistently offered unsurpassed breadth and depth of inventory, frequent delivery and value-added services. We will continue to compete for our customers' business each and every day with our rapid delivery network, dedicated sales specialists, industry-leading technology platform, state-of-the-art logistics and a variety of marketing support programs."

ATD goes to market in the U.S. through 130 warehouse distribution centers and offers value-added services as TireBuyer.com and the Tire Pros alliance program for retail dealers.

ATD also operates 24 warehouses in Canada under the National Tire Distributors umbrella.

Its annual sales are in the $5.3 billion range.