CINCINNATI — Tire Discounters Inc. opened three retail stores in recent weeks, including its first in the Indianapolis area, an new market for the dealership where it plans to open five more stores this year.
The other new stores are in Decatur, Ga., and Farragut, Tenn., and represent the fifth store Tire Discounters has opened in the Huntsville, Ala., area and third store in the Knoxville, Tenn., area.
The new stores expand Tire Discounters network to 119, solidifying its position as the eighth largest independent retail tire dealership in the U.S.
The new store in Greenwood, Ind. — a southern suburb of Indianapolis — is both a retail store and training center, where Tire Discounters plans to train employees before they are assigned to work in one of the six locations planned for the Indy metro area.
To mark its entry in the Indianapolis metro market, Tire Discounters adopted a stretch of Eastbound I-70 at the Quaker exit to keep the road free of debris that can lead to flat tires.
"We always try to go above and beyond for our neighbors," Crissy Niese, chief customer officer, said. "Our free safety inspection events include free wiper blade replacement to ensure proper visibility during rain, free tire pressure checks and top offs, tread depth checks."
The dealership also is holding free tire safety inspections at local AutoZone locations designed to drive awareness for an often-neglected part of vehicle maintenance. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are 11,000 tire-related crashes each year.
"Tire Discounters is dedicated to keeping our customers safe on the roads. We're doing these events because we want our customers to remember that inspecting their vehicles for signs of wear, especially their tires, should be on their regular maintenance list. If it's not, bring it by any time, and we'll inspect your vehicle for free," Charles Curlee, vice president of sales, said.
Other locations scheduled to open this summer are in Noblesville, Plainfield and on Michigan Avenue in northern Indianapolis. Stores in Whitestown and on 96th Street in northeastern Indianapolis will open before year-end.
In Georgia and Tennessee, Tire Discounters expects to staff the new stores there with 10 to 15 employees each.
Tire Discounters recently disclosed plans to open 19 stores by mid-2020, a strategy that will expand the dealership's footprint to 135 stores in six states.