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Numbers That Count

Matt Leeper, vice president of sales for Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc., says the company’s focus on its Falken brand revolves around the dealers who sell it and the distributors who stock it. “Our focus will continue to be the dealer.”

Photo: MTD

SRNA is focusing on Falken

DEALERS WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN BRAND’S GROWTH

By Joy Kopcha

Tire dealers who have learned to adjust to the industry’s uncertainties of the past two years aren’t off the hook yet. Matt Leeper, vice president of sales for Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc., recently told a group of Falken dealers that the latest economic conditions are changing the game again.

Last year’s product shortage worries have transitioned to concerns about higher inventory levels.

Leeper was among the executives who provided an update during Falken’s annual dealer meeting in Puerto Rico. He said consumers are spending less and paying more for fuel.

Through May of this year, consumers were driving more, but miles driven have since started to level out. “We’re starting to see miles driven go down.”

Data from the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) showed shipment increases in the first quarter — up 3% for passenger and light truck tires — but the numbers have started to slip. And both consumer tire and medium truck shipments were down in July, said Leeper.

Focus on Dealers

From April to July, USTMA shipments were off 9% in consumer tires compared to 2021, which was notably a strong year. In commercial truck tires, strong market conditions continued through April, which was up 11% year-over-year. But growth slowed in May and June to a 2% gain, followed by a 3% decline in July.

One critical factor is tire dealers are managing what Leeper called “extremely high” inventories.

A big piece of that can be attributed to the resurgence of imported tires. Leeper said imports “are way, way, way up,” and they’re grabbing a lot of shelf space. Passenger tire imports were up 29% through May, he said, while light truck shipments were up 18%. Truck tire imports increased by 25% through the first five months of 2022, he told dealers.

Leeper said that kind of boom in imports is “putting a lot of pressure on brands, especially the tier-two brands.”

ALL EYES ON FALKEN

SRNA is answering that pressure with full focus on its Falken brand, without any distraction from its Ohtsu brand. The company is adding sizes to products — for everything from the all-season Ziex CT60 to the Winterpeak F-Ice and WildPeak A/T Trail — and is bringing new tires to market on both the commercial side, as well as a new ultra-high performance (UHP) tire.

In addition to advancing its product lineup, Leeper said SRNA has 13,000 dealers signed up for its Falken Fanatic associate dealer program. Those dealers sell about 450,000 units a quarter.

SRNA works to differentiate itself from other tire manufacturers by having “a huge dealer presence,” according to Leeper. That means the company has committed a large team to signing up and serving its Fanatic program dealers. (Leeper said there are 30 SRNA team members who focus on signing up Fanatic members.)

“We have a lot of people in the field. We believe the fight is going to be won on the street.”

Signing those dealers also requires SRNA’s distributors to stock the right mix of products and service those retail dealers well. Leeper said it’s just as important that the distributors are good stewards of the program.

“We are now laser-focused strictly on (the) Falken brand and holding Falken brand share. So you know if you’re going to invest in Falken, we’re investing in Falken. There is no question that is the brand we’re going to run with.

“We will continue to put our resources into marketing to the dealer versus the consumer. We don’t have enough time and money to ever impact the consumer. Our focus will continue to be the dealer.”

SRNA will complete its Falken WildPeak tire lineup in 2022 with the introduction of the WildPeak R/T, a rugged tire with heavy-duty construction designed for lifted trucks and SUVs.

The first 18 sizes are expected to arrive in the U.S. by November and 32 additional sizes will follow by the first quarter of 2023.

Rick Brennan, SRNA vice president of marketing, said the tire’s fitments cover trucks that tow, haul, work and crawl. Applications include a Ford F-250 Tremor towing a trailer and a Ram 2500 PowerWagon, plus the Jeep Gladiator, Ford Raptor and Ram TRX.

NEW ALL-SEASON UHP TIRE

Beginning in September, tire dealers will be able to be able to start ordering the newest Falken UHP tire, the Azenis FK460.

The tire is an all-season product for sport coupes, sedans and CUVs. It will come with a 50,000-mile warranty (25,000 miles on staggered fitments) and will offer “light” snow capability.

Brennan said the tire “is a huge leap for us in performance level in ultra-high performance.”

The Y-rated tire will offer balanced wet and dry performance. And Brennan said it was designed to compete against the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06+ and the Michelin Pilot Sport AS4.

The tire will launch with 61 sizes, with 24 additional sizes already planned for a full 85-size lineup. The sizes also match the needs of Tesla and cover 82% of all electric vehicle (EV) fitments in use today.

Brennan said SRNA’s goal is to “cover 100%” of the EV market. By the middle of 2023, coverage will extend to 90% of that market.

The FK460 does share some attributes with the Falken Ziex ZE960, including 29 common sizes — though there are some load index differences, according to Brennan, who added that the ZE960 will remain in the Falken portfolio.

It’s designed for coupes and sedans and is more of a standard commuter tire, while the new Azenis FK460 has CUV fitments and offers characteristics for a more “spirited” driving behavior.

SIZE EXPANSIONS

In addition to those two new passenger and light truck products, the Falken brand lineup is growing in 2022 thanks to new sizes in both consumer and commercial applications.

The Ziex CT60 all-season tire will have 14 sizes — all designed for large CUVs and SUVs.

Three of those new sizes have been delayed until 2023: 275/55R19, 275/50R22 and 285/45R22.

The Winterpeak F-Ice 01 is receiving 15 sizes, with a focus on more coverage for trucks and SUVs. One of those sizes, 275/60R20, has been delayed to 2023.

The WildPeak A/T Trail size offerings are expanding from 30 to 45 options, ranging from 15-inch wheels all the way up to the 21-inch wheels — in size 265/45R21 — that target the 2021 Blazer, Velar and Atlas vehicles. The new sizes are expected to arrive in the North American market beginning in September.

Falken’s wildly popular WildPeak A/T3W is adding one more size, for applications like the Ram ProMaster. The new size, 225/75R16C, is on its way to the U.S.

By the end of the year, two new sizes of the WildPeak A/T 02 are expected to be available: 235/65R16C and 225/75R16C. And two more sizes, 195/75R16C and 185/60R15C, are coming in 2023.

In the world of medium truck tires, the company’s plant near Buffalo, N.Y. is producing several new TBR products and sizes: the BI850 Plus 225/70R19.5 and, coming in September, size 245/70R19.5; the SI011 11R22.5, and coming in July 2023, 11R24.5, 295/75R22.5 and 285/75R24.5; and the RI151 Plus 225/70R19.5 and 265/70R19.5.

Two sizes of the RI151 joined the lineup and are being produced overseas: 245/70R17.5 and 425/65R22.5.