With the Sept. 1 opening of its first outlet in Oklahoma, Discount Tire is now established in 21 states with 712 stores.
In addition to its debut entry into the Sooner State, thus far this year the company has christened new facilities in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio and Florida.
Store No. 700 in Waxahachie, Texas.
“We’re on a pretty good clip,” reports spokesman Joseph Valdez. In May the company celebrated hitting the 700 mark with a Grand Opening extravaganza in Waxahachie, Texas.
“This is an important milestone for the growth of our company, and it’s fitting that store 700 is located in Texas,” says Rick Sims, regional vice president. “With nearly 3,900 employees working and 200 stores operating in the state, it’s our largest region and we’re honored to be part of so many local communities.”
Calling itself “the world’s largest independent tire and wheel retailer,” from 1960 to 2007 the company has had 46 consecutive years of year-over-year increases in sales and profits. According to Forbes magazine’s Top 500 Private Companies List, 2007 revenues were $2.06 billion.
Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Discount Tire goes by the America’s Tire moniker in Oregon and parts of California.
The company has a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records for broadcasting the longest continuously running television commercial. The “Thank You” spot featuring the “Little Old Lady” still airs in some markets. Sims says the commercial, created in 1975, has become an icon for the company’s “no-questions-asked-satisfaction-guaranteed” style of pushing stellar customer service befitting the motto of “be fair, be truthful, work hard, be there on time and help people.”
It offers the largest tire and custom wheel selection of any tire retailer, according to Sims. Customers can purchase tires and wheels in the store, by mail order or online. At www.tires.com, customers can locate a store, purchase tires, schedule installation appointments, register for e-mail discounts, gain access to safety tips and other information while also determining the correct tire and wheel size by brand for their particular vehicle.
The company carries brands such as Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Kumho, BFGoodrich, Pirelli, Hankook, Falken, along with its own exclusive brands such as Silver Edition and Roadhugger. It offers wheels from Enkei, Konig, Liquidmetal, TSW, Akuza and exclusive brands including MB Wheels and G-games.
Discount got its start in 1960 when Bruce T. Halle rented a building on Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, Mich. The inventory consisted of only six tires, and four of them were retreads.
As with any new start up, Halle’s venture faced numerous challenges – perhaps one of the biggest being that he didn’t own an air compressor. Having only six tires and a portable air tank, Halle would race back and forth to a nearby gas station, filling the tires with air as he sold them.
Discount’s first store opened in 1960 along Ann Arbor’s Stadium Boulevard.
Out of necessity, he became a master at inventory turn. In addition to being the only salesman, Halle was the tire technician, accountant, store computer, sign painter and cleaning crew.
In 1966 the company purchased its first automatic tire changer. By 1970 there were seven stores and the first Discount Tire Road Hugger brand tire was sold.
The corporate headquarters relocated to Scottsdale in 1987. Store No. 500 opened in 2002 along with a gleaming new Scottsdale headquarters building. That same year saw the launch of a prototype store design and the company rolled out its mobile service vehicles. In 2004, Discount went NASCAR with its sponsorship of the No. 41 Dodge.
“Today we serve millions of customers through our network of retail stores, mail order and online business,” says Sims. “Customers return to us for our selection of tire and wheel brands, low prices and service.”
For more information, visit www.discounttire.com.
