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Roadside riches Th e Blackburn family is turning selling refurbished OE wheels and hubcaps into a national enterprise

By Bob Bissler

Jim Blackburn Sr. is a man who doesn’t pass up an opportunity. And it was opportunity that took him from being an Archway cookie truck driver to the owner of a leading provider of new, used and refurbished OE wheels and hubcaps.

In the 1960s and ’70s, he oft en saw lost hubcaps and wheel covers along the roadsides of northeast Ohio. But he saw more than hubcaps. He saw opportunity.

“I would stop and pick up hubcaps I’d see at the side of the road,” he explains. “Th e business was founded around 1970, because that’s when I started selling them on the weekends at fl ea markets and swap meets. I opened the fi rst actual store in 1985.”

Th at fi rst location eventually became four locations, all in Macedonia, Ohio. Besides being strategically located near the metropolitan areas of Akron and Cleveland, the city of Macedonia is the Blackburn Torrey Blackburn (left) and brother Jimmy (right) worked weekends and summers as children with their father Jim Sr. (center) at Blackburn’s Hubcap & Wheel in Macedonia, Ohio. family’s hometown. Eventually, Jim Sr.’s sons Jimmy and Torrey joined the family business. Jim Sr. says he’s retired, but he’s at the business nearly every

Both boys grew up working summers and weekends with day. He still stops for hubcaps and wheel covers along the roads. their father. Jimmy came on full-time in 1993, followed by All those hubcaps and wheels have added up over the years. Torrey in 1996. Today Jimmy and Torrey are co-owners of Along with the need for additional space, Blackburn’s had to Blackburn’s Hubcap & Wheel Inc. evolve with changing markets. Th e business had always been a

Th e company has evolved into a wholesale operation that retail operation, but now the company is mainly wholesale. To provides new, used and high-quality refurbished hubcaps and handle increasing volumes of inventory, the company moved wheels. With fast shipping, Blackburn’s is a one-stop source into a new 155,000-square-foot building in 2010 just one mile for the wheel needs of any retailer repairing cars. away from the old location. Th e new facility has 7,000 square feet of offi ce space. How does a small retailer of hubcaps and wheels evolve into a wholesale enterprise? In Blackburn’s case, it had a lot to do with changes in the way people started to rely on their local tire and service center. “Once upon a time we were 95% retail-oriented,” explains Jimmy. “When we changed our focus and became more wholesale oriented, we started to supply tire and service centers. Th at’s where the real change started to occur.” Jimmy says that was in the early 1990s. Th e industry evolved out of wheel covers into aluminum alloy wheels. Aft er 1995, Cadillac had no hubcaps. “Th ere was a mind set change at that point where a retail customer was used to going to a Blackburn’s custom-made conference room table features some of the famhubcap center and buying a wheel cover, and ily’s favorite hubcaps and wheels collected over the years by Jim Sr. they could just snap it on,” Jimmy explains.

“Th en as the market changed over to wheels, it became more involved. You have to put a tire on the wheel; Under-promise, over-deliver and then it has to be mounted and With big volume comes big customers, balanced. So the focus started to and taking care of them is a priority at change and the retail customer Blackburn’s Hubcap & Wheel Inc., Macestarted to rely more on their tire donia, Ohio. and service center relationship.” “We have a grading system,” says Jim

Th at relationship became a prime my Blackburn, who co-owns the business opportunity at Blackburn’s. Graduwith his brother Torrey. “Our grading ally they began to change focus and scale always runs one step above the market to wholesale customers. industry. Our goal is that when they get

“(Tire and service centers) ala wheel from us, we’ve exceeded what ready have a captive audience with their expectations are.” the retail customer,” says Jimmy. “Even though we changed our focus, there was a change in the In order to exceed expectations, Blackburn’s will take what may be called an A-grade wheel at other companies and Blackburn’s employees Becky Prekler and Guy Esposito pull a wheel for an active order from Blackburn’s fi nished goods inventory. industry also of how they would rate it a B-grade wheel. It may have just a actually acquire this product.” minor cosmetic fl aw on it. In many cases vendors with certain specialties.

Over time, the Blackburn’s it’s still going to be nicer than what the “If it’s chrome, painted, machined or wholesale customers started to customer has on the car. polished, that will depend on where we bring in repeat business. “We “When the customer gets it, we want get it restored,” he says. started picking up some tire centers them to be surprised so we always grade To handle all that inventory, Blackburn’s and service centers and they called one step down,” explains Jimmy. not only needed a special facility, but also every day of the week,” says Torrey. The business model at Blackburn’s special racks to put the inventory on. “Then you build a relationship includes maintaining a large inventory. “We developed special racks that will and they can start promoting that “If you’ve got a replacement wheel, hold as much as you put on them,” says Blackburn’s can get you a wheel. we’ve already got it ready to go. We’ll Jimmy. “Being made of wood, they’re Up to that point the service centers send it to you, you do the changeover more forgiving to the wheel as opposed weren’t even promoting it as an and send us back the damaged wheel,” to a metal rack that could actually scratch add-on product.” says Jimmy. or damage the wheel. At any given time,

Th e company sells 100 wheels The restoration that exceeds what can our inventory revolves around 100,000 for every wheel cover. Many rebe done at Blackburn’s is sent to different wheels.” furbished wheels in Blackburn’s inventory are OE wheels that were either rejected or are overruns. Its inventory also includes Th e Blackburns have positioned their company over the years 25,000 antique and classic wheels. to cover a wide variety of wholesale and consumer applica

Blackburn’s is currently in a state of transition. Th e company tions. Th e word is spreading that tire dealerships can utilize is fi rmly established as a leading regional provider of new, used Blackburn’s as a fast and thorough wheel source for customers’ and refurbished OE wheels. Now it is going national with that needs. Blackburn’s gets 50% of its business within a 100-mile distribution of OE wheels. radius, so the biggest area of potential growth is nationally.

To help make that happen, the company recently launched “We have our eyes way up in the sky,” says Todd Deranek, a revamped website (www.blackburnswheelfi nder.com). Th e director of sales and marketing. “Now we’re in the process of site features an improved Wheel Finder function. going from a regional distributor to a national distributor.” ■

3 top sellers at Blackburn’s Hubcap & Wheel

Wheel Delivered cost from Blackburn’s Suggested sell price OE list price 2006 Mazda 6 17-inch alloy $138.60 $198 $393 2011 Camaro 20-inch polished alloy $226.10 $389 $753 2010 Impala 17-inch alloy $138.60 $198 $718