Denver--Calculated, balanced growth is the mantra of Sam Forbes, president of Peerless Tire Co. Forbes, who began working at a Peerless Tire gas station as a teen, now mans the helm of the Denver-based tire retailer, with 58 tire stores and 28 gas stations across the West and Midwest. The latest addition is a new retail tire store at 3815 Wadsworth Blvd.
A year ago, the Colorado Department of Transportation ordered the Peerless Tire store at Wadsworth Boulevard and Ralston Road be demolished for road construction, Forbes said, leaving a gap in their metro Denver coverage.
To fill the vacancy, Forbes reopened a Wheat Ridge store in June that focuses solely on tires, batteries, and wheels. Forbes said upcoming store expansions--whose service is solely on tires, batteries and wheels--include Big Spring, Texas; Sheridan, Wyo.; and Albuquerque.
"We're opportunistic," Forbes said, who oversees store operations in Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska. "We look at the seven-state imprint and plan infill.
"The bulk of the locations are tire sales only," Forbes said. However, he added, 17 of the 58 stores conduct undercar service that includes alignment, muffler, and brake service. About seven years ago, Forbes said he purchased a chain of tire stores that conducted general repair in Topeka, Kan.
In the mix are 28 gasoline stations that do business as U-Pump-It, he said. Over the years, the company started to back- fill Interstate 70 with Peerless Tire stores since it was already running delivery trucks east, supplying the shops with tires from its 80,000-square-foot Denver warehouse. "The economies of scale improve when additional stores are added," he pointed out.
Forbes said he relies on Exide Technologies to supply his stores with batteries; Carlise Tire & Wheel Co. and American Racing for wheels; and several regional wholesalers, such as Myers Tire Supply, for tire supplies and tools.
Although there's a large group of general repair shops that shy away from tire sales because of lack of profitability, Forbes said they are his stores' main profit center because of their core business philosophy of creating volume.
"The tires are the most profitable because that's where the turns are," Forbes said. This is due to purchasing volume, he said, adding that they have a market advantage with their own private label, Peerless.
"It gives us exclusivity in our markets," Forbes said of the Peerless brand manufactured by Bridgestone. The company also carries Bridgestone, Cordovan, and Hankook brands, he added. "We've done a good job of building brand awareness," Forbes said, especially with the light truck and SUV market.
The fall is the busiest time of year for tire sales, Forbes said, a busy time of year for Marketing Manager George Kropf.
"Almost Twenty-five percent of our annual sales occur in October and November," Kropf said, adding "We do a full-blown campaign six weeks before Thanksgiving." This campaign includes radio, television, and print, he said.
Peerless also supports and advertises at local events, such as the recent Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival, advertising price specials through an eight-page brochure, Kropf said.