PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — TBC Corp. is planning to rebrand its 46 remaining Merchant's Tire & Auto Service Center locations, in Maryland and Virginia, to its NTB Tire & Service Centers brand.
The Merchant's locations will be rebranded by the end of November, according to the company. TBC earlier this year rebranded 39 Merchant's locations in Virginia to NTB, and 29 more in North and South Carolina in 2016.
Once complete, the NTB chain, which offers a broad range of automotive maintenance and tire services, will have nearly 550 retail locations in 23 states. TBC also operates 190-plus Tire Kingdom Service Center stores in Florida.
The Merchant's brand was founded in 1943 by the Merchant family from Manassas, Va., and was purchased by TBC in 2003.
"With more than 75 years serving customers, there is no denying the strength of the Merchant's brand, however, after careful evaluation, we have decided it is an appropriate time for us to operate these locations under NTB," TBC President and CEO Erik Olsen said.
"The phased rebrand of Merchant's locations to NTB over the past few years has yielded positive results, and has been positively received by our associates and our customers, and we are confident that this rebrand will have the same outcome.
"We have enjoyed the opportunity to introduce our customers to the NTB brand while providing them the same great service that they have become accustomed to at all of our locations," Mr. Olsen said.
TBC oversees more than 3,200 franchised and company-operated tire and automotive service centers under the NTB, Tire Kingdom Service Centers, Big O Tires and Midas brands.