CHAMBLEE, Ga. — Tire Discounters opened a retail store in Chamblee recently as the next step in its plan to have 30 stores open in Georgia by year-end.
The new store in Chamblee — a city of about 30,000 resident located northeast of Atlanta — is Tire Discounters seventh retail location in Georgia. The new store adds to Tire Discounters' network of 160 stores in seven states, stretching from Indiana and Ohio in the north to Alabama and Georgia in the south.
The new store – a converted vehicle repair shop — follows a series of acquisitions in the Atlanta area last year and coincides with Tire Discounters' disclosure of its intention to open a 75,000 square foot warehouse, distribution and training facility in metro Atlanta.
Last year Tire Discounters acquired Bulldog Tire (with stores in Covington, Monroe, and Snellville), Porterfield Tire (with stores in Watkinsville and Athens) and North Georgia Tire in Dalton, along with Lightning Auto Glass, an auto glass replacement company in Chamblee.
Tire Discounters previously opened stores in Perimeter Pointe, Ft. Oglethorpe, Lawrenceville and Dalton, Ga.
The Cincinnati-based retail tire dealership now has 80 employees at eight stores in Georgia with a goal of adding 300 additional jobs in 2022, including about 200 in the Atlanta metro area.
To mark the opening of the Chamblee store and promote its growing presence in the Atlanta area, Tire Discounters staged a "pie-demonium" event, giving away 250 apple pies at the store supplied by Henri's Bakery & Deli in nearby Sandy Springs, Ga.
Tire Discounters hired a bagpiper to play throughout the day alongside the bakery's food-truck to lend a festive atmosphere to the event.
"We're a fun-loving company that likes to do things differently," Tire Discounters President and CEO Jamie Ward said.
"Since it's common for families to welcome new neighbors with a pie, we thought we'd flip the script and give away pies as a way of saying, 'Thanks for having us, Atlanta, we're so glad to be here!'"
Wood said Tire Discounters chose Henri's Bakery & Deli for the pie giveway because Henri's is family-owned and operated and has a great reputation with Atlantans.
Commenting on the customer giveaway, Henri's Bakery owner Anthony DiNardo said: "Customer experience is so important to Henri's, it was obvious Tire Discounters felt the same."
Anna Wood, managing director of Tire Discounters, said giving away pies reflects the company's pride in surprising and delighting its customers.
"We like to say that our service is so good that it's 'stupid-good,'" Wood said, noting that Tire Discounters offers a "Skip the Shop" service where the dealership picks up customers' vehicles and returns them after being serviced.
