K&M urges dealers to 'level up' at annual conference

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The youngest folks at the K&M Tire Inc.'s annual Dealer Conference and Trade Show are too young to drive. Some are even too young to walk.

The show is always a family affair with multiple generations, some asleep in baby carriers or waving from strollers, attending seminars and exploring the trade show floor.

K&M wouldn't have it any other way.

Without inviting the next generation to join the show, some family-run dealerships wouldn't be able to attend, said President Cheryl Gossard to Tire Business.

"It's fun to see some of them now, coming (to the show) as adults running the business. I remember when they were the kids coming with their family."

The conference, held this year Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at the Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, followed a busy end to 2023 for K&M.

In December, the Delphos, Ohio-based K&M closed on a deal to acquire Point S USA's distribution operations in Colorado. The acquisition included a 41,000 sq.-ft. warehouse in Denver and would make K&M the primary distributor for Point S members serviced by the facility.

The acquisition came out of a relationship between the two companies. They knew and trusted each other. When Point S USA decided to divest the Colorado operation, they turned to K&M, Gossard said.

The acquisition is going well, but it's too soon to tell the larger impact or decide on any expansion plans for the warehouse, she added.

It was K&M's furthest move west yet, expanding its footprint into a new region, but the wholesaler and distributor doesn't have coast-to-coast ambitions.

"We look at opportunities as they come. To see if it's something that makes sense for us," she said.

That doesn't mean K&M isn't focused on growth. The conference encouraged dealers to "level up," a mantra K&M also is taking to heart.

"That's really all about continuous improvement," Gossard said. "What we're focused on this year, externally and internally, is how can we get a little bit better every day?"

K&M's Director of Training Jeff Wallick fired up dealers Thursday, welcoming them to the show and later relating his own personal journey in leveling up his life.

"As we turn the page to the 54th chapter in our story, we've never been more passionate and committed to serving you in more and better ways than ever before," Wallick said to a packed crowd.

He urged dealers to find their "why" and remember why they started in the tire business in the first place.

"We all have a formula that's brought us to this place in this room in this time. I think there's a reason for that," he said.

Business owners need to see their business today with clear eyes – the good, bad, ugly and indifferent — and then into the uncertain future to see where the business needs to be in the future.

"It's that gap between where we are today and where we know we need to get that's the opportunity for us to level up," Wallick said.