PORTLAND, Ore., May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- John Kreidel,
CEO of Tire Factory, today announced that the 32 year old
member-owned cooperative based in Portland, Oregon, with 157 Members and over
200 stores in 15 Western States, will join Point S and change
its stores' names. The change will occur beginning in June of
this year, and will continue over the next 18 months. "Customers
will see more things staying the same than changing," Kreidel said.
"They'll still find the same local owners and staff, dedicated to
serving their communities." Kreidel continued, "Tire Factory has
grown in the West for 32 years, but the Members and the Board
realized that to continue to grow and remain relevant in a changing
market, we needed to improve our brand and increase our buying
power. After looking at many alternatives, we decided to join hands
with over three thousand independents worldwide who fly the Point S
flag and who are made up of independent store owners just like Tire
Factory."
Eric Gill, Chairman of the Tire
Factory Board, said, "The customer will really only notice three
changes. The name on the stores will change. Second, they will find
a great line, Point S branded products, in our stores. And third,
customers will appreciate remodeled stores with an updated and
fresh Point S brand." Gill added, "Tire Factory was founded
by five independent tire store owners in 1983, who decided they
could save their customers some money by combining their purchases.
Today, 157 owners are doing the same thing on a bigger scale,
getting better prices for their customers, by joining hands with
Point S."
WHY CHANGE NAMES?
"Changing our name was taken very seriously but it's the right
thing to do," noted Kreidel. "Tire Factory is a well-known brand,
but standing together with over 3,300 other independents, using the
Point S brand, was compelling to our long term marketing
strategy. Point S stands for Service Point and better
reflects our local store's brand for selling both tires and
automotive services," Kreidel stated.
Fabien Bouquet, Deputy Managing
Director of point S development, the international headquarters of
point S, said, "The common decision of UniMax and Tire Factory to
use the point S Trademark as an exclusive retail banner in their
respective networks, is fantastic news. This historic decision from
both networks supports our mutual target to build up the largest
North American Independent tire dealer network. This is what we
have achieved today."
About Tire Factory
Tire Factory, based in Portland,
Oregon, is the leading independent, Member owned, tire
dealer organization in the U.S. The company has grown by providing
its members effective marketing and buying programs since 1984.
There are more than 200 retail locations in 15 western states with
retail sales over $300 million. Tire
Factory operates three distribution centers, Portland, Oregon; Denver, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah. For more
information, go to www.jointirefactory.com or
www.tirefactory.com.
About Point S
Point S Development, headquartered in Lyon France, represents independent dealer
groups in 27 Countries representing 3,300 points of sales with
purchases of over 16 million tires. For more information go
to www.points-development.com.
About UniMax Tire Ltd.
For more than 35 years, UniMax Tire Ltd., has been one of the
biggest networks of independent retailers and distributers of tires
in Canada and operates more than
600 outlets. UniMax Tire sells over 3 million tires a year in
retail and distribution. Contact: Dominic Simard, dominic.simard@edelman.com.
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SOURCE Tire Factory