6 Tires, No Plan : The Impossible Journey of the Most Inspirational Leader That (Almost) Nobody Knows (9781608322589) by Rosenbaum Michael

Author:Rosenbaum, Michael [Rosenbaum, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60832-258-9
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Llc
Published: 2012-08-16T04:00:00+00:00

GOING FOR BROKE

As the company built its momentum and track record, Halle and Von Voigtlander decided to accelerate their pace of growth. Although Discount Tire was not yet a household name, its combination of low prices and surprisingly good customer service was proving to be sustainable. Bob Holman was lining up larger lines of credit, and vendors were more aggressive when courting their business.

In 1979, Halle was optimistic enough to buy a second jet, an eight-seat Lear 35, and repositioned the six-passenger Citation in Michigan for use by Von Voigtlander. Although the distances between stores were generally small in each of the two regions, having two jets made a statement to both employees and competitors: Discount Tire had arrived. Halle and Von Voigtlander decided to bring that message home to the entire industry when the National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association held its 1979 annual meeting in Discount Tire’s home area—Detroit.

Halle and Von Voigtlander brought a slew of managers to the conference as a way of demonstrating the size of their organization. Dave Fairbanks and Al Olsen researched wardrobe options and outfitted each manager in a navy blue Discount Tire blazer, white shirt and tan Sansabelt slacks. Discount Tire’s team presented a sharp contrast to the more casual appearance of most tire retailers—small or large—at Detroit’s then-new Renaissance Center.

Maury and Jay Isaacson feted the Discount Tire team in a reception at the top of the hotel, where Gerry Halle made a sport of transferring fuzz from her sweater to the navy blue jackets of her spiffy companions. While the Isaacsons’ soiree was important recognition for Discount Tire, other, more exclusive parties beckoned.

Gary Van Brunt, Jack Chambers, Dave Fairbanks, Al Olsen and John Arthurs crashed the Michelin tire party, only to be undone by their upscale attire. A Michelin executive noticed the word discount on the jackets, sniffed that Michelin never discounted its product and had them ejected from the party. Within the next decade, Discount Tire would become one of Michelin’s most important customers in the United States.

Undaunted, the merry band set its sights on Goodyear’s hospitality suite, where the company hosted an event that would never include an off-brand retailer like Discount Tire. Even though the company was a substantial customer of Lee Tire, a Goodyear subsidiary, Discount Tire was not in Goodyear’s league.

As Van Brunt and his comrades tried to convince the security guard that they had simply misplaced their invitations, they attracted the attention of Bill Sweatt, then a vice president at Goodyear. Sweatt looked the men over and invited them in for a drink. Sweatt was impressed with both the spirit and the presentation of the nattily-attired tire jockeys. “They looked sharp, physically and mentally,” he says simply.

In 1980, Goodyear would send Sweatt to restore profitability to its Lee Tire subsidiary, which was in danger of shutting its plants. Lee Tire was selling a disproportionate share of its products to wholesalers, missing the opportunity for higher margins available through direct sale to retailers. When he took over as president, Sweatt directed his team to shift the balance more to retailers.

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