Car press

Extract :
News
Thursday 07 September 2006

Tires are a product that few people imagined would be a viable candidate for on-line sales. The success of the visionaries who did have that faith and who did establish themselves has focussed attention on this sector and, in 2006, drawn in a multitude of new entrants. Pioneer in the marketplace Pneus Online (tiresandco) has reached another milestone by expanding in new countries.

"The potential for selling tires over the internet remains considerable".

Going back to the launch of your website in 2001, do you remember the mass of people who were dismissive of the concept, saying that tires would not sell over the internet because the market was highly competitive and, more precisely, because there were not that many drivers who were capable of fitting their own tires...

Oh yes. When I was starting out on this journey in 2001, I got a lot of dubious looks implying I would fail. The idea of selling over the internet first came to me as a purely personal observation. As a racing driver, I was very aware of the large part tires played in my budget. When the Internet established itself once and for all as a reliable sales channel, I judged that it would be possible to use it to order tires at highly competitive prices. And I was right, as our tires are 30 to 50% cheaper than market price.

It was true that initially, the biggest obstacle to the success of my project was how to get the tires fitted. But problems can always be solved. I put on my pilgrimage outfit and set out to convince garage owners and repair centres to agree to fit the tires sold through our website, saying that the Internet was now an established fact of life, that its progress was irresistible and that, rather than viewing it as a competitor even if it was just that, they were better off profiting from the new mode of distribution and taking a share of the profits. I am not going to deny that a lot of distributors slammed the door in my face, but we persevered because there are always people out there who think in the same way you do. As a result, we now have approved installers which our customers can visit to have their tires fitted. Better still, their tires can be delivered straight to the centre of their choice. All they have to do is get their vehicle to the installer once they have received confirmation of delivery. And when you see who these centres are, we can rightly say that we have won this battle because although quite naturally, the majority are car mechanics and service stations who see fitting tires as an additional revenue stream and means of attracting extra customers they can offer and sell other services to, we have also managed to sign up established tire fitters and service centres who combine selling their own products with fitting ours! And we are pleased to report that our fitters and centres are happy with our service and the profits they make from them and that they are now recommending us! They say to their customers, "If you visit Pneus Online (Tiresandco), you will be able to buy your tires securely and reliably for less". Now that's worth any amount of advertising and media campaigning!

In 2005, you started to expand outside France and this year has seen more expansion. What stage have you reached in your plans?
We are established in Germany which represents our biggest market outside France. We are also in Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Austria, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Portugal…. And we are already distributors for the big brands like Michelin, Pirelli, Goodyear, Dunlop, and Bridgestone... at a great price of course !

Extract : L'Argus - extracts compiled by Joseph GICQUEL - September 2006