Exxpress unveils rebrand, new dealer loyalty program

MIAMI BEACH, Fla.— To say the new year has brought about significant change for tire dealers across the Northeast is an understatement.

The entity once known as Dunn Tire L.L.C. has rebranded as Exxpress Tire L.L.C., and in the process has rolled out a dealer loyalty program — called Exxpress Rewards — that the company expects to be a "game-changer" by increasing its penetration with its customer base.

The new brand identity and loyalty program initiatives were rolled out during the Exxpress Tire Delivery Dealer Trip, held in late February at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Resort. Around 145 dealers attended the five-day event.

"We differentiate ourselves with our sales force, customer service and relationships and our delivery service. Certainly other distributors can now replicate our product offerings," Exxpress Tire President Dave Simons told Tire Business. "But this is another way we feel we can differentiate ourselves to this group of customers."

Exxpress Tire has partnered with Next Level Performance — a company that helps to provide incentive programs for businesses to grow — to develop the Exxpress Rewards program.

Retail tire dealers earn points each time they purchase tires from a manufacturer for which Exxpress Tire is the primary distributor. Dealers earn points in every program for which Exxpress Tire is designated as their primary distributor.

Points accumulate and can be redeemed for global travel; sports and event tickets; selected merchandise; and experiences. Points, however, can't be redeemed for credit or form of payment against their statement.

Dealers who have designated Exxpress Tire as their primary distributor from a long list of manufacturers will be enrolled automatically.

The program launches April 1. Dealers will be able to follow their points progress as well as shop for rewards on a dedicated website.

Stephen Clave, vice president, said Exxpress Tire reached out to several tire manufacturers to gauge their interest in the program.

"Without exception, they all expressed interest," Clave said. "So it gave us what I call the yellow light. We had to wait for timing. Once the market started to right-size and normalize itself, we felt we were in a much better position to move forward.

"We went back to the manufacturers, got a second confirmation. They've all bought in, and we decided to move forward."

The Exxpress Tire team believes the program will result in organic growth for the company, which late last year sold the retail arm of its business as well as its brand name— 25 Dunn Tire retail outlets in western and central New York and Pennsylvania — to Discount Tire.

Exxpress continues to distribute tires to the stores, which remain branded as Dunn Tire.

Last year, Exxpress said it had 46 points of sale; the loyalty program helps increase that number to more than 400 points of sale, given the reach of the Exxpress Tire wholesale business.

"So if you're a Continental Gold dealer, or Mastercraft Century dealer, or use one or more of the major programs and we're your primary (distributor), you're also an Express Tire Network dealer," Simons said.

Relationships have long been a hallmark of Exxpress and its Dunn Tire history. Clave called the associate dealer program a reward for that relationship.

"Essentially, it's a cherry on top of the sundae," Clave said. "We want to reward you for the relationship. Our business goal doesn't change; we want to increase our compliance and grow organically within our dealer base."

"We want to be a greater value to that customer list," Simons said, "and help them to reach their goals to be compliant on these important programs. And (we want to be) more important to our supplier partners."

Over the last few years, Clave said "unprecedented activity in the marketplace" resulted in shrinking margins. Exxpress Tire execs pondered how they might grow the business without chasing price.

"So instead of acquiring more business, which is a constant, daily effort of ours, how do we organically grow the business where we are already doing business? So we felt let's reward the relationships where we have high compliance, where we have loyalty, and continue to build on that.

"And that's how we arrived at the concept of a loyalty program ... relationships matter. People do business with people. So for us, that's who we are, that's our DNA. That's the foundation behind all of our relationships. So we thought, let's leverage the strength of the relationships."

While Exxpress Tire is the name of the overall business, four other units fall under its umbrella: Exxpress Tire Delivery (the sales and distribution arm); Exxpress Tire Network (the associate dealer program that includes the new loyalty program); Exxpress Tire Digital; and a fourth yet to be formalized.

The Exxpress Tire Network replaces the Exxpress Car Care Centers branding that existed previously.

Simons said the domino that initiated the rebranding — the sale of the 50-year-old Dunn Tire retail unit — ultimately made sense, since the wholesale part of the business accounted for 80% of sales.

"As you go through periods like COVID, and things like that, it's very difficult to devote adequate resources to two major channels, two pretty distinct channels with different needs," Simons said.

"So we looked at it as, 'So where do we think we are going to be the most successful long term?'... and, 'How can we devote the resources needed to that one channel where we can be most successful?' "

He said Discount Tire approached Dunn Tire about the possibility of a sale in 2023.

"We were surprised, frankly, because that wasn't their historical approach," Simons said.

During the course of the talks, Simons said he talked with 40 people from Discount Tire.

"And they are the nicest people to interact with," he said. "And so, we just felt great about that. It wasn't an easy decision for us, but we felt so good about Discount Tire taking it over, for the future of the employees, for the future of the brand, for the future of customer care.

"In my opinion, they are just the best of the best. There are other very good ones, but there's only one that's best, and that's Discount Tire. So we were thrilled to make a deal with them. ... And it's great that the Dunn Tire brand name is going to continue in our market, because it's an important name and brand in the region."

Exxpress Tire now has 240 employees — fewer than half of whom it had before the Dunn Tire sale — while operating six warehouses, including a new expandable facility in Syracuse, N.Y., now boasting 60,000 square feet of available space and 12 docks.

A Dunn Tire location in Jamestown, N.Y., also doubled as a warehouse. That space has been subdivided since the sale, with the warehouse serving customers in the southern tier of New York state and a few northern counties of Pennsylvania.

Simons said Exxpress Tire is now 100% devoted to the independent tire dealer and the auto care channel. All future resources, he said, including technology, distribution and sales programs, will be devoted to those two primary channels.

How might the loyalty program impact the future of Exxpress Tire?

"Clearly we signed on because we believe it'll have a positive impact on the business. Our goal is to increase our penetration within our customer base." Clave said.

"Everybody's looking for a means to create some sort of stickiness with your brand and your services. Only time is going to tell but we do believe it's uniquely positioned. ... It's not something that's available in our space today. Let's see what kind of traction we gain and see what the future holds."