Simply the best

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio It really is quite simple: There's a familiar name atop the Tire Business Best Places to Work survey.

Simple Tire L.L.C., the online tire retailer that has experienced robust growth this year, is the winner of Tire Business' Best Place to Work in 2020, based on the results of a survey TB conducted in conjunction with Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work.

Trevose, Pa.-based SimpleTire, founded in 2012 by Andy Chalofsky, his brother Josh Chalofsky and their friend Kenny Pratt, is among five retail, commercial, off-road, retread or wholesale tire dealerships that have been recognized in this year's competition.

• This article appears in the Nov. 23 print edition of Tire Business.

With nearly 100 employees, SimpleTire was a finalist for the award in 2019, the inaugural year for the survey.

Four other companies also were recognized. Finalists are (in alphabetical order):

• Best-One of Indy, with 11 retail locations and 135 employees, servicing Indianapolis.

• McMahon's Best-One Tire & Auto Care of Fort Wayne, Ind., a 52-year-old tire dealership with four stores and nearly 100 employees.

• MFA Oil Co. of Columbia, Mo., a Big O Tires franchisee with 22 stores in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma and more than 200 employees.

• Tire Group International (TGI), a family-run, Miami-based wholesaler with more than 100 employees.

"As I look back at this year and this company, I am really proud of this team and how much impact we are having on the industry," Simple Tire CEO Andy Chalofsky told Tire Business.

"It's one thing to say you have a good team, but it is something else to see them execute and succeed. It's just very exciting all around."

In order to participate in the survey, each business must:

• Be a retail, commercial, OTR, retread or wholesale tire dealership in the U.S. (publicly or privately held);
• Have a minimum of 15 full- or part-time permanent employees working in the U.S.; and
• Be in business a minimum of one year.

Among companies eligible are online tire businesses; franchise tire businesses (such as individual Tire Pros, Big O Tires, etc. franchisees); mass merchandisers with tire stores (such as Walmart Tire & Lube Express, Sears Tire Centers, individual stores not eligible); and wholesale clubs that sell tires (such as BJ's or Costco.)

Each owner or representative submitted the Employer Benefits and Policies Questionnaire, an online survey detailing company policies, practices, benefits and demographics.

Employees, meanwhile, were asked to complete the Engagement and Satisfaction Survey, a series of questions, using a scale of 1 to 5, ranging from "agree strongly" to "disagree strongly."

Organizations with 25 or more employees must have a response rate of at least 40% in order for the results to count, meaning not every employee is required to participate.

Last year's overall winner was St. Louis Wholesale Tire, a family-run business that specializes in specialty tires and inner tube.