LAS VEGAS — Pirelli Tire North America Inc. will unveil a new associate dealer program for U.S. tire dealers in the near future..
Claudio Zanardo, CEO of the North American subsidiary of Pirelli & C S.p.A., said details of the new program will be revealed in the coming weeks, just in time for the start of Q3.
Zanardo said the "collaborative" program can drive growth both for the dealers and the tire maker.
"The message is, is we are here with the right product, and we can give the right service and right product to serve the U.S. consumer." Zanardo told Tire Business during a lunch break at a tire launch held at the Las Vegas Speedway. The tire maker unveiled its latest product, the P Zero AS Plus 3, an ultra-high performance all-season tire designed specifically for the North American consumer, in Vegas, June 6-8.
Zanardo said Pirelli wants dealers to know they can grow together.
"This is our message. This is our strategy. Doing things together," Zanardo said.
Zanardo said the program replaces the tire maker's FasTrack associate dealer program, but with "specific features really designed for the needs of today, not the needs of three or four or five years ago. This is our new way to talk with dealers, to present and go to the market together."
Zanardo said Pirelli has targeted North America as a prime target for growth.
"Now that we are developing and presenting new products, and we are in the market with products dedicated to the U.S., we can be more successful ," he said.
He said the U.S. has a large quantity of vehicles with large rim diameter tires "that can fit perfectly with our strategy of (producing tires) with quality and performance.
"We are keeping our Italian DNA, but we are more and more American."
Zanardo said the associate dealer program will be catered to dealers regionally.
"We will explain it when the time comes," he said, indicating the development process will be ongoing. "We need to go back and present a program for dealers doing things together."
