Plaza Tire: Top tier sales depend on tire inventory

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Access to a large inventory of tires is key to selling Tier 1 and 2 brands of tires, according to Mark Rhodes, president of Plaza Tire Service in Missouri.

While some in the industry see a growth in popularity of Tier 3 and Tier 4 tire brands among consumers, Mr. Rhodes contends it depends on what the salesperson has on hand that determines the sale.

"It's more of an inventory and availability question than it is what the consumer wants. If you come into a store that doesn't have a Goodyear available, you're not going to sell them a Goodyear," he said.

Each of Plaza Tire's 67 stores inventories about 2,000 tires, he said. Plaza Tire carries BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Dick Cepek, Falken, Firestone, Michelin, Nokian, Pirelli, Toyo and Yokohama brand tires.

"I live in a world where (customers) buy what we sell. So people will always buy the less expensive (tire) if that's an option you give them," Mr. Rhodes said.

"We plan on 20 percent of the people wanting the cheapest thing in the building. And we think another 20 percent of the people will tell us what they want and they're brand-conscious: 'I want a Michelin. I want a Goodyear. I want a Bridgestone.' Something like that. And then the 60 percent in the middle come in and say they need tires. That's how we basically operate, under that assumption," he said.

• This article appears in the June 24 print edition of Tire Business.

Cape Girardeau-based Plaza Tire, with stores in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas, is the 19th largest independent retail tire dealership in the U.S., based on Tire Business' research. About 65 percent of the retail dealership's sales come from tires and the remainder from auto service.

"Our first half of the year has started off slightly better than last year in tires and service," he said, adding that he expects to end the year with higher sales.

The dealership has been in a continuous expansion mode lately, opening two to three locations, both greenfield and by acquisition, each year. Mr. Rhodes said he expects to continue that pace of growth.

"I think the ongoing challenge is just making sure you're employees offer the best level service that they can. Because that's the most important thing to people, buyers, is the quality of the service," Mr. Rhodes said.

In order to accomplish this goal, the dealership provides employee training and recently built a training store at its main office for training its salespeople and technicians.

Otherwise, it's business as usual for the dealership, he said.

"It's kind of an everyday block-and-tackle. You implement the best practices you can and do the basics really well."