FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — VIP Tires & Service has opened a retail store in Framingham, its fourth in Massachusetts and 59th overall.
The facility, like all VIP locations, will offer tire sales and service and full-service automotive repair, including brake repair, preventative maintenance, muffler and exhaust repair, multi-point vehicle inspections, wheel alignments, state inspections and oil changes.
The new store is in a 5,000-sq.-ft. former Midas Auto Service outlet that VIP has been renovating since leasing the building in early April. The store has six service bays and the ability to store up to 1,500 tires, according to VIP, reducing wait times and providing an array of products for customers.
The store, which will have a staff of six including four technicians and two service advisers, will be open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tim Winkeler, president and chief operating officer of VIP, said it was all about "finding the right opportunities — locations like Framingham where we can provide valuable auto repair and maintenance services to customers while growing our business."
He said the location is on "one of the busiest roads in Massachusetts, and that means a lot of people with car care needs. With our roster of certified professionals, we look forward to helping the residents of Framingham, and the surrounding towns of Natick, Wayland, Ashland, Marlboro and Wellesley, take care of their cars for years to come."
The company is renovating the waiting area, adding a new bar built for laptops that features multiple seats with individual plug-ins. VIP said it is also adding a beverage station and remodeling two customer bathrooms as well as the showroom and and customer service counter spaces.
Veteran auto service manager Mike Escola will lead the Framingham location. The company said it plans to hire two more technicians in the next few months.
VIP said it will host a community grand opening celebration in May as well as launch a charitable initiative called Oil Changes for Education designed to raise money to benefit area schools.
VIP has 35 locations in Maine, 19 locations in New Hampshire and one in Vermont as well as the four in Massachusetts. Framingham is a western suburb of Boston with a population of about 68,000.
In the last year, family-owned VIP has opened or reopened three other new stores — two in New Hampshire (West Lebanon and Claremont) and its first in Vermont (Williston).
"Over the last several years, we've made a real commitment and investment in our people, and now have an incredible team of professionals in place all over New England," VIP CEO and Chairman John Quick said. "That initiative has allowed us to think strategically about new markets and adding stores."
Mr. Quick said the success of each store comes down to its people and customer engagement process.
"Our mission at VIP is to earn an automotive customer for life, and we can only do that by being partners with our customers and by delivering exceptional auto repair and maintenance services, with best-in-market tire pricing," Mr. Quick said.
"Every day, more and more people trust our certified professionals all over New England to take care of their vehicles, so our sales and profitability have never been better, which allows us to find the right market opportunities for growth."
At 59 stores, VIP is the fourth largest independent tire dealership in New England and 20th largest in the U.S.