Denver—More than three decades after Jerald Thomas partnered with the Foree brothers, Dale, Russ, and Bill, to co-found Foree Tire Distributors, his two sons, Whitney and Arnold Thomas, continue to do business under the same principles--take care of employees and customers, and stick to wholesale business.
“The key to our success has been our employees, not us,” said Foree President Whitney Thomas, who joined the family business in 1994 that now employs 42 people at its three warehouses in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Gering, Neb.
“We do not compete with our customers--that’s another reason for our success,” Thomas said. “By conducting only wholesale tire sales, our customers can focus on retail sales and servicing fleets and not feel their supplier is competing with them,” he added.
Over the years, Foree has grown to serve the six-state region of Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, said Foree Vice President Arnold Thomas, who began working in the family business in 1981 with his brother, Cliff Thomas, who retired in 2000.
“We listen to the customers and see what they need,” Thomas said, adding that quick delivery times, applications that include commercial, passenger, agricultural, and specialty customers (lawnmower and ATV applications), and brand preference have dictated what they carry and how they conduct business.
In addition to selling tires the traditional way through outside sales and over the phone, an increasing amount of business is being conducted online, through their ASA eTire link program, Arnold Thomas said, which accounts for more than 10 percent of overall sales.
“There’s not a lot of red tape here,” he said. “If a customer isn’t happy we want to fix it right away.”
In addition to tires, the brothers also carry Unique Wheel, aftermarket steel wheels, Coats tire changers and balancers, tire studs, tire chains, wheel weights, patches, and other supplies.
“The growth in high-performance tires and new sizes has led us to expand our inventory,” Thomas said, adding that a single make and model can have three different types of tires that include different speed ratings.
TBC Corp., who market the Multi-Mile, Sigma, and Power King brands, has been Foree’s main supplier for 35 years, Thomas said, adding that they also carry Toyo, Yokohama, Kumho, Hankook, Carlisle, and Nankang tire lines.
Proliferation of tire sizes and OE applications has forced many retailers to rely more on their tire suppliers for application advice, Thomas said, adding that this is where competent, professional employees come into play.
For example on a 2009 Saturn Astra, there are three OE replacement sizes depending on trim level and rim size, Thomas said, adding that the higher speed ratings have also driven up the cost of inventory.
“It’s getting harder to maintain high inventory turns with the different sizes,” Whitney Thomas said, adding that their goal is to turn inventory six times a year.
Another current challenge the brothers face is in acquiring Chinese-made economy tires that are currently in high demand.
At the time of press, President Obama’s proposed 35 percent Chinese tire tariff, which enacts a provision to protect the ailing U.S. tire industry, has already disrupted Foree’s inventory.
“It will affect the amount of Chinese inventory we can get,” Thomas said. “On a positive note, we’re taking steps to have inventory for our customers and negate the affects of the tariff.”
