"Tyre dealers are by no means the last link in the tyre distribution chain. If anything, quite the contrary," stated quite bluntly Patrizio Ferretti, president of the ItalyTyre network (10-million-euro annual turnover). Without in any way detracting from the great design, development, production, and promotion work of major companies in the sector, if there were no tyre dealers to manage the sales and service relationship with the end customer, what would their commitment and efforts amount to?" Ferretti’s creature, the ItalyTyre network, was born in 2013 and currently brings together more than forty tyre dealers in Rome and Lazio, with the aim of making the commercial relationship with manufacturers more efficient and product management more convenient for tyre dealers and their customers. "ItalyTyre was born with the aim of facing challenges, overcoming obstacles, and reaching goals that would have been impossible to achieve individually," Ferretti continues. "Its strength lies in the collaboration between people united by a common purpose and a shared commitment. When individuals with different perspectives, skills and experience come together, the doors to innovative solutions suddenly open. This allows us to act locally while thinking globally. Made up of tyre specialists, the Board of ItalyTyre negotiates and establishes commercial agreements, obtaining the best purchasing conditions from partner suppliers. The partner suppliers see us as one entity with several outlets. They all buy on convenient terms, and this allows ItalyTyre tyre dealers to strike better deals than their local competitors even those brands that work marginally and do not focus on specific strategies".
An upside-down pyramid
Something peculiar to ItalyTyre is that, unlike other networks, it was created, so to speak, from the bottom up. "An inverted pyramid," points out Giorgio Carsetti, head of development and organisation at ItalyTyre. In this case, in fact, tyre dealers were not contacted by a tyre manufacturer or a wholesale distributor but formed a consortium among themselves by teaming up and putting their skills and experience in the local market on the negotiating table. In short, “United we stand” as ItalyTyre's motto effectively sums up. They are not mere executors of an external proposal, but active players in a healthy working relationship. "On the one hand, the manufacturer is faced with a single buyer/distributor who guarantees him a proven market presence from the outset and with whom he can define the key points of the business relationship. On the other hand, the individual tyre dealers have the freedom to manage the price list as they see fit within their own companies," explains Ferretti, who has more than 30 years of experience in the industry.
First independent network
From the many years of experience of tyre dealers in the Lazio region, with the common aim of responding concretely to the growing needs of the tyre market, today ItalyTyre is a joint stock company with a capital of 120.000 euro, which, unlike individual tyre dealers, does not follow the logic of a single brand and - thanks to the optimisation of economies of scale and collaboration with premium brands such as Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Pirelli, quality brands such as Dunlop Firestone, Hankook, Kumho, Uniroyal and budget brands such as Barum, Davanti, Dunlop Sport, Fulda, Laufenn, Sava - is able to guarantee competitive offers and proposals in terms of prices, maintaining high quality and professional services. ItalyTyre also makes ongoing assistance available to its customers and to companies as well as long-term rental companies. Another service offered that, for obvious reasons, does not take into consideration online purchasing, is that of tyre storage, as required by some customers, to cope with seasonal tyre replacement required by law. "ItalyTyre is an example of how collaboration and shared goals can lead to extraordinary results," Ferretti concludes. "Working together not only allows better face and even overcome obstacles, but also opens up new perspectives and opportunities for success”.
United we stand!
