CINCINNATI — Tire Discounters, the nation's eighth largest independent tire dealership, is planning to add franchising to its repertoire starting in 2021 and has hired industry veteran Dave Crawford to lead the initiative.
The dealership will focus its franchising efforts on family-owned businesses looking to maintain a family legacy but unable to make the financial commitment in today's competitive market, Tire Discounters said.
Tire Discounter President and CEO Jamie Ward called Mr. Crawford a "legend in automotive service franchising" and the "right person to help drive our best-in-class program.
"He has a reputation for innovative management techniques and a talent for developing and retaining strong relationships with business partners."
Mr. Crawford brings 35 years of experience as a sales and marketing executive in the automotive aftermarket industry, including establishing and developing growth plans to build franchise locations for tire and automotive retailers.
Among Mr. Crawford's credentials: vice president of franchise operations and training for American Tire Distributors' Tire Pros program, February 2008 to August 2014; national marketing director for American Car Care Centers from 1996 to 2007; and franchise sales and dealer operations for The Hybrid Shop, 2018 to 2020.
Mr. Crawford called his hiring "an incredible opportunity to help Tire Discounters bring the company's remarkable experience and expertise to small businesses across the country to help them grow their business."
Adding a franchise program will help Tire Discounters "aggressively accelerate" its already steady growth by adding "best-in-class" franchise dealers to complement the company's 135+ corporate locations.
Tire Discounter's franchise program will offer:
- A nationally recognized name brand with a 40-plus year track record;
- Access to Tire Discounters' systems and processes for training, operations and customer communication;
- Robust marketing support, including mass media, promotions management and store materials;
- A high-traffic website with ongoing strategic digital solutions;
- The collective buying power of 135-plus retail stores and more than 325,000 tires in stock and access to two distribution centers;
- Back-office function support, including accounting and finance, information technology and distribution and logistics.
The dealership did not elaborate on its goals for geographic expansion nor provide information on the costs involved.
