Summary of Operation
etyres is an established 20 year old business that commenced franchising in 1996 and became the UK’s first online tyre retailer in 1999. Franchise owners operate in large, exclusive territories. Earlier this year etyres won the prestigious British Franchise Association’s Franchisor of the Year Bronze Award.
INITIAL INVESTMENT REQUIRED £35,000 + VAT
Hard work and initiative have paid off for Jeremy and Victoria Valentine, who are already seeing a positive return on their investment just six months after launching the Newcastle branch of the online tyre company.
Jeremy, 41, was a Sales Manager for an IT company, but after he was made redundant he seized the chance to turn a negative into a positive and start his own business with his wife Victoria.
“I wasn’t worried about the fact that I didn’t have any previous experience in this industry,” he says, “because etyres promised we would be given comprehensive training in all areas of the business.
“They were true to their word and covered everything from fitting the tyres to advice regarding marketing campaigns.
“Since we got under way six months ago, we have continued to enjoy support and guidance from head office in all areas including getting the best deals to increasing brand awareness with the launch of our own web pages.”
Jeremy and Victoria were drawn to etyres because of its proven reputation and commitment to offering customers the lowest competitive prices and the most convenient service. etyres is also a Full member of the British Franchise Association (bfa) and in July won the prestigious bfa Franchisor of the Year Bronze Award.
“We are enjoying working well as a team and our mobile fitting service is proving really popular in the North East,” adds Jeremy.
While Jeremy handles the fitting side, Victoria, 33, is calling on her experience as a former Marketing Manager to promote the business. She says: “etyres appealed to both of us, but especially me because not long ago I woke up one morning to a flat tyre. Jeremy was working away and I had a toddler and a newborn baby.
“I remember thinking wouldn’t it be brilliant if someone came to the house and changed the tyre rather than having to load the kids into the car and wait around in a garage for an hour!”
The couple are working tirelessly to boost their profile in the Newcastle and Gateshead areas and build a solid reputation and customer base.
“We are already doing around 200 tyres a month, which is a great start,” says Victoria. “We put it down to a combination of a strong local presence on Google and good old-fashioned marketing – handing out leaflets and meeting people.
“We have also carved out some niche areas for ourselves, selling to caravan and motorbike owners, which has really paid off for us during the summer months.”
etyres success is built on the back of cheap prices for tyres, a convenient mobile fitting service which operates across the UK and a user-friendly website featuring Eamonn Holmes and Vicki Butler-Henderson.
It operates as a sole trader franchise, a management opportunity and is proving a success for husband and wife and father and son partnerships. All quickly develop into a multi-van business in an exclusive territory.
Full training and ongoing support is provided for all new franchise owners. Some key areas are still available.
“We are really enjoying the business and it’s going well,” continues Victoria, “we are aiming to take on a second van and to employ a fitter in the New Year.
“Our plan is to get the business really established and have a good team working for us so that we can take the kids to Disneyland in Florida in 2013.”
Judging by their results so far they will have no problem turning their holiday fantasy into reality.
Written by Denna Bowman