13 minute read
From wheels to tires: RNR Tire Express
from Modern Tire Dealer - November 2017
by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup
Matt King (left, pictured with Reggie Goodwin, manager of the 100th store) started with RNR as a tire technician. He is now a regional manager.
From wheels to tires
RNR Tire Express reaches 100 stores and changes its name
By Bob Ulrich
Hurricanes directly affected a number of RNR Tire Express outlets in September, whether they were existing stores or under construction. That includes the recently opened 100th store, located in Sarasota, Fla.
But they were back up and running within a couple of weeks, so it’s time to give the milestone store its due. It is one of 15 company-owned stores; the other 85, under the direction of SPF Mgt. Co. LLC, are franchise operations.
The brand started out as Rent-N-Roll Custom Wheels and Performance Tires in 2000, with wheels getting the top billing. Seventeen years later, the name has evolved into RNR Tire Express.
“We believe the future is tires,” says Larry Sutton, the company’s founder and president.
History repeats itself
Larry Sutton previously owned Champion TV and Appliance Rentals, which was his first rent-to-own business. Selling the business in 1997 did not dampen his entrepreneurial spirit, however.
So he started fresh with Rent-N- Roll Custom Wheels and Performance Tires three years later.
“We started out in the wheel business, not the tire business,” says Sutton. “At the time, aftermarket wheels were a $1 billion market and growing exponentially.
“Custom wheels were prominent in urban songs and culture. The only reason we sold tires was because they were needed for the upsized wheels.”
When Vince Ficarrotta, a former employee of Sutton at Champion TV and Appliance Rentals, came on board two years later, the wheel industry was still on the upswing.
“When we started with the wheel model, that was the time when the industry was going through significant growth,” says Ficarrotta, vice president of franchising. He is also the “F” in SPF Mgt. Co., which stands for Sutton (Larry), Petco (Linda) and Ficarrotta.
“It just kept growing through the next five to seven years. We kept riding the waves.”
He was put in charge of franchising the new rent-to-own concept. Mike Kent, who had been influential in convincing Sutton to start franchising Rent-N-Roll, was the first franchisee.
RNR Tire Express founder and President Larry Sutton (right, with Randy Cabrera III) is very involved in everyday operations, including planning, training and vendor relations. The company has a comprehensive training program called RNR University, which combines digital and onsite learning opportunities that are tracked and measured.
The name game
There have been three different changes to the brand name over the years. The original Rent-N-Roll Custom Wheels and Performance Tires transitioned into RNR Custom Wheels and Tires.
The focus on wheels began to change in 2008 during the Great Recession when the tuner craze and the custom wheel boom leveled out.
“It became very obvious if we were going to survive, we were going to have to find a way to penetrate the passenger tire business,” says Ficarrotta.
Eventually the brand evolved into RNR Tire Express, which markets all major brand name tires with a strong focus on brands such as Nexen, Yokohama, Toyo and several others. Interestingly, RNR Tire Express continues selling as many custom wheels as ever; however, they have grown their volume by adding focus on passenger tires.
“Whenever possible, we use economies of scale to get the best price,” says Sutton. “We do act as a buying group in many instances.”
Although all the stores operate similarly, the franchisees have some freedom to meet the needs of their customers in their areas. For example, the brands they offer can vary by region, dependent on distribution channels.
“We’re not a typical do-as-we-say franchisor,” says Sutton. “We believe in entrepreneurship and have created a culture where everyone’s voice and ideas are heard.”
All the stores offer guaranteed low prices on all their products.
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“We will beat any local competitor’s price with a written quote,” says Sutton. “And we include free installation.”
If the tires are rented and returned, the company’s policy depends on the condition of the tire.
“If they have an adequate amount of tread, we will re-sell them at a discounted price,” says Sutton. “If not, we dispose of them.”
The cost of becoming an RNR Tire Express franchisee is $35,000. The franchise fee per store drops as a franchisee becomes a multiple store owner.
1 store: $35,000 2-3 stores: $30,000 4-11 stores: $20,000 12-over: $3,750
There is also a royalty fee per store: 5% of total revenue.
Corporate vs. independent
The corporate stores are important to the growth of the company, says Ficarrotta. “Our corporate stores allow us to beta test various concepts and develop rich training programs. It keeps us at the forefront of what our franchisees are going through because we experience it ourselves.”
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)
PUBLICATION TITLE MODERN TIRE DEALER PUBLICATION NO. 0026-8496 FILING DATE 10/1/2017
ISSUE FREQUENCY Monthly NO. OF ISSUES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY 12 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $65.00 per year
COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS OF KNOWN OFFICE OF PUBLICATION Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503-1640, Los Angeles County COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS OF PUBLISHER’S HEADQUARTER’S Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503-1640, Los Angeles County FULL NAMES AND COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESSES OF PUBLISHER, EDITOR, AND MANAGING EDITOR PUBLISHER: Greg Smith, Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503-1640, Los Angeles County EDITOR: Robert Ulrich, Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503-1640, Los Angeles County MANAGING EDITOR: Lori Mavrigian, Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503-1640, Los Angeles County OWNER Ty F. Bobit, CEO COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503-1640, Los Angeles County KNOWN BONDHOLDERS, MORTGAGEES, AND OTHER SECURITY HOLDERS OWNING OR HOLDING 1 PERCENT OR MORE OF TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONDS, MORTGAGES, OR OTHER SECURITIES None ISSUE DATE FOR CIRCULATION DATA BELOW August 2017
EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION AVERAGE NO. COPIES EACH ISSUE DURING LAST 12 MONTHS ACTUAL NO. COPIES OF RECENT SINGLE ISSUE
15a TOTAL NO. COPIES (NET PRESS RUN) 15b PAID/REQUESTED CIRCULATION 15b.1 OUTSIDE COUNTY PAID/REQUESTED MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS 15b.2 IN-COUNTY PAID/REQUESTED MAIL SUBSCRIPTION 15b.3 SALES THROUGH DEALERS/CARRIERS 15b.4 REQUESTED COPIES USPS OTHER MAIL CLASSES 15c TOTAL PAID/REQUESTED CIRCULATION 36,557 0 30,236 0 0 1,105 31,340 36,115 0 33,194 0 0 1,085 34,279
15d NONREQUESTED CIRCULATION 15d.1 OUTSIDE COUNTY NONREQUESTED COPIES 15d.2 IN-COUNTY NONREQUESTED COPIES 15d.3 NONREQUESTED DISTRIBUTED BY OTHER CLASS OF MAIL 15d.4 NONREQUESTED OUTSIDE USPS 15e TOTAL NONREQUESTED DISTRIBUTION
0 2,048 0 0 253 2,301
0 1,613 0 0 34 1,647 15f TOTAL DISTRIBUTION 33,641 35,926 15g COPIES NOT DISTRIBUTED 234 208 15h TOTAL 33,874 36,134 15i PERCENT PAID/REQUESTED CIRCULATION 93.2% 95.4% 16 ELECTRONIC COPY CIRCULATION 16a REQUESTED AND PAID ELECTRONIC COPIES 16b TOTAL REQUESTED AND PAID PRINT COPIES + REQUESTED/PAID ELECTRONIC COPIES 16c TOTAL REQUESTED COPY DISTRIBUTION + REQUESTED/PAID ELECTRONIC COPIES 16d PERCENT PAID AND/OR REQUESTED CIRCULATION (BOTH PRINT & ELECTRONIC COPES) This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November 2017 issue of this publication. 0
31,340
33,641 0
34,279
35,926
93.2% 95.4%
I CERTIFY THAT ALL INFORMATION FURNISHED ON THIS FORM IS TRUE AND COMPLETE. I UNDERSTAND THAT ANYONE WHO FURNISHES FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION ON THIS FORM OR WHO OMITS MATERIAL OR INFORMATION REQUESTED ON THE FORM MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL SANCTIONSNS (INCLUDING(INCLUDING FINESFINES ANDAND IMPRISONMIMPRISONMENT) AND/OR CIVIL SANCTIONS (INCLUDING MULTIPLE DAMAGES AND CIVIL PENALTIES).
3 franchisees, 51 stores
RNR Tire Express is the nameplate on 1 00 stores, 85 of them franchises. Three of the franchisees account for more than half of the total outlets.
1 . Rental Concepts LLC, dba RNR Tire Express, Fayetteville, Ark., David Harrison, president (21 ). 2. Rims USA LLC, dba RNR Tire Express, Spartanburg,
S.C., Chris Raffo, owner (1 8). 3. Gulf Coast L&P Inc., dba RNR Tire Express, Moss
Point, Miss., Shannon Strunk, owner (1 2).
The fourth largest franchisee, RNR of Virginia LLC, dba RNR Tire Express, is run by Richard Rose, a coowner of eight RNR outlets. They are based out of Norfolk, Va.
In addition to corporate stores, RNR Tire Express partners with 20 different franchisees. It operates in 22 states.
“Between now and the end of 2017, we are anticipating 15 store openings, with another eight slated for the first quarter of 2018,” says Sutton.
“We are excited to bring our quality service and affordable payment options to hundreds of new markets over the next several years.” ■
Larry Sutton’s favorite responsibilities are visiting stores, attending grand openings and meeting as many new associates and customers around the country as possible. The average inventory per RNR outlet is 100,000 tires.
Nokian will focus on its tire dealer network and all-season products in North America
By Joy Kopcha
Dirt work is underway at the future site of Nokian Tyres plc’s first North American tire factory, but the production facility is just the beginning of the company’s plans.
“It’s not only the $360 million we’re spending on this, but it’s much more when thinking of building the organizational capabilities and investing in marketing and cooperation with our customers,” said Hille Korhonen, Nokian’s CEO and president. “We are not only investing in the factory, we are investing in creating a better business model in North America.”
Antti-Jussi Tähtinen, vice president of marketing and communications for Nokian, said, “It’s a package. The factory
Matti Morri, known as Nokian’s “Mr. Tire,” said the all-season lineup previously featured only asymmetric patterns. Hille Korhonen, center, said building tires in Tennessee by 2020 is “not just a plan, it’s a commitment.” She was joined at the groundbreaking by Chairman of the Board Petteri Walldén, left, and Gov. Bill Haslam.
is an enabler. Without the factory it would be really difficult to grow.” And growing is the goal. In May when Nokian announced plans to build its third tire manufacturing facility in Dayton, Tenn., the company said it wants to double sales in North America in the next five years. Korhonen reiterated that goal during at the groundbreaking event.
The path to growth may center on the factory, but execution doesn’t wait for tire production, which is set to begin in 2020. (The company will produce about 1 million passenger, SUV and light truck tires in that first year of production, and 4 million tires by 2022.)
In 2018 the company will launch an authorized network of dealers in the U.S. and Canada, and it will support those tire dealers with in-store marketing and point-of-purchase displays. The help will extend outside the dealership, too, with messages that target consumers and direct them to a specific Nokian tire dealer.
Tähtinen said, “We have had that in Europe for a couple years and it’s great to hear feedback from Italian customers. ‘I got people coming in, they saw your ad online and it directed them to my shop.’ That’s the kind of thing we want to do together with our dealers, guide the consumer to them.”
The company believes the authorized dealer network will help it expand its footprint. In the U.S. partnering with more tire dealers is the top priority.
Tommi Heinonen, head of Nokian Tyres North America, said, “We have several dedicated target areas. Of course we
want to focus first on areas where there is snow, because we can support that with our winter products.” He listed Seattle and Denver as targets, as well as Michigan. “We definitely don’t want to try to take all the states at the same time. We’ll start with more winter-oriented areas and go south.”
Korhonen said Nokian will focus on its online presence, though the company has no plans to sell tires online direct to consumers.
“Our thinking is we should do that together with our dealers.” Instead, the company will focus on its visibility to consumers. “Online means much more than selling product. It means having the product visible to consumers and the services visible in order to support the core experience of the consumer.”
Then, the consumer experience feeds into the dealer support system. “We believe when the consumers are happy with the product they are telling (others) about it, and our dealer network gets confidence that we are delivering what we are promising,” Korhonen said. ■
Nokian offers a broad market tire for CUVs and SUVs 30 sizes of the eNtyre C/S will be ready in 2018
Nokian Tyres plc plans to expand its all-season product lineup as it ramps up business in North America, but it’s not waiting for its new tire production facility. The company has 11 product groups specific to the North American market, “and we will be gradually building more,” said CEO and President Hille Korhonen.
During a groundbreaking event in September the company unveiled its newest tire, the eNtyre C/S. The CUV/SUV tire focuses on performance, durability and comfort, and is backed by a 65,000-mile limited tread wear warranty. The tire will be available in 30 sizes in early 2018.
It’s Nokian’s first non-directional, symmetric tire designed specifically for North America, said Matti Morri, the company’s technical customer service manager.
The tire’s tread pattern features four main grooves connected with lateral sipes to remove water and slush. The grooves’ high-polish finish helps to usher water away and resist hydroplaning. They also feature soft soil and snow grip enhancers which improve the grip when driving in muddy or snowy conditions. The sidewalls are reinforced with Aramid sidewall technology which provides durability and puncture resistance. The main grooves are also deeper than usual, providing for good mileage.
The tire’s center rib uses variable left-right siping, which means openings switch from left to right with each sipe, allowing more sipe edges to be used. This results in better grip while maintaining a stable and responsive driving feel. The center rib also is surrounded by a special 3D-lock pattern that stiffens the blocks and allows for maximum use.
The eNtyre C/S features two new innovations to reduce noise. The Silent Groove Design uses indentations like those on a golf ball on the walls of the longitudinal center rib to control air flow. The indentations cut out sounds made by the edges of the transverse grooves and prevent unpleasant howling sounds. With Silent Sidewall Technology, there’s a special zone on the sidewall of the tire that removes noise and vibration carried over from the driving surface by the tire tread.
As for durability, Morri said Nokian used some of the same materials from its Rockproof tire, introduced in 2016, in the compound of the eNtyre C/S.
Steve Bourassa, product director for Nokian, said the eNtyre
The eNtyre C/S tire will be available in a mix of H- and T-rated sizes for 16- to 20-inch wheels.
C/S will be a broad market tire compared to the eNtyre 2.0, and its tread wear warranty reflects that — 65,000 miles of coverage for the eNtyre C/S compared to 80,000 miles for the eNtyre 2.0. The new tire is designed for the more frugal consumer, he said, while the eNtyre 2.0 was geared toward the more professional, affluent consumer who was willing to invest more in tire performance.
In the instances where there is a size overlap between the two tires, such as 225/65R17, 235/50R18 or 235/55R19, the load carrying capability and speed rating of the eNtyre C/S is slightly lower than that of the eNtyre 2.0.
