Press

"People in Canada are not very used to buying tires online," said Alexis Nerguisian, president of the Geneva-based company that launched the online discounter Tires and Co. in Canada a year ago."Of course, there is a two-step process. First you have to order at home or at work, then you have to go to a garage. We think it's practical."

His Tires and Co. Canadian business turned a profit in its first four months, generating $165,000 of sales until the end of December, he said. Since January, it rang up $240,000 in sales, meeting its targets although grappling with a sluggish summer in an uncertain economy and poor weather."It's not an incredible takeoff but it's not that slow," he said in a telephone interview.

Tire shops like his bring in between 50 and 60 per cent of their sales in winter, buoyed significantly by selling winter tires, he said. Sales are particularly strong In Quebec, where winter tires have been mandatory since 2008.