Online tyre retail franchise, etyres, has announced that despite the recession its newest franchisee is looking to expand his business. Franchisee Brendon Brady, who operates the Reading territory, is seeking to take on a second van and employ his first fitter. He says: 'I got off to an amazing start, fitting 50 tyres in my first week. Now I already need to expand after just three months because of sheer volume of work.

'Despite the recession our business is thriving because as people need to save money on essentials, they are turning to the internet for the best deals and that's leading them to us.'

etyres has experienced double-digit growth, which the company says is helped by the fact that its prices are up to 40 per cent cheaper than leading high street tyres depots. Additionally, its website features TV presenters Eamon Holmes and Vicki Butler-Henderson telling customers why etyres saves them money.

After 15 years of managing garden centres, Brendon decided he wanted to branch out and work for himself, he comments: 'I chose etyres because I was keen to stay within retail. I enjoy customer interaction and selling, but I also wanted to be out and about and able to take a hands-on approach. I looked at several options and I was aware of the recession looming, which became an important factor in helping to make up my mind.

'The start up was very good with etyres and with 30 million cars on the roads, I decided that this business was the most likely to be recession-proof. etyres provides fantastic back-up and is constantly ranked at no. 1 by Google. The only downside is that after managing 170 people with the garden centres, I now find myself in a situation where I can't delegate - if it's got to be done, I've got to do it!'

Published: 10 March 2009

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