It seems like every issue of Modern Tire Dealer has an announcement of a new acquisition by Monro Inc., Icahn Automotive Group LLC, Bridgestone Americas Inc. and the like. One would assume by reading these that what I call the company-owned conglomerates are “winning the war” for the hearts and minds of consumers, but I would disagree. I think tire dealers are winning right now.

My father-in-law, Ed Tuck, was a pretty smart guy. Before becoming a venture-capitalist and founding Magellan GPS, he was a turnaround consultant to failing telecom businesses in the 1980s. (Read “A Sense of Direction,” Ed Tuck and Mike Khaldun, Dog Ear Publishing, 2018.) I once asked him about the first things he did when he took over a failing business. Ed said that first, he’d find the person responsible for the mess and fire that person just to get everyone’s attention. Then once he got their attention, he raised prices.

Last month we looked at several important considerations that matter ...

Last month we looked at several important considerations that matter ...

With the recent combination of private equity-owned Mavis Tire Supply ...