Becoming a franchisee of the Finnish Nokian Tires is definitely profitable if you already have a business that lacks a brand. If you build everything from scratch, then the payback period is unclear

Tire workshop at the flagship Vianor tire center in the Leningrad region (Photo: RIA Novosti)

​Entrepreneur Dmitry Shmatov from St. Petersburg rebuilt his car service center into a tire center under the Vianor brand in 2010. Investment of 10 million rubles. (a third of which was compensated by the franchisor) he recaptured in just over two years. Twice a year, when motorists “change their shoes,” the monthly revenue of his tire center is about 1 million rubles, and out of season it is half as much.

Vianor in numbers

$800 million Nokian Tires has invested in its plant in Russia since 2005

1429 tire centers around the world are part of the Vianor network

411 Vianor centers operate in Russia

26% Nokian Tires sales are in Russia and the CIS

37,4 billion rubles helped out Nokian Tire LLC, which sells Nokian tires in Russia, in 2014

Source: company data, SPARK

Franchisor's view

Finnish tire manufacturer Nokian Tires has one of the largest branded networks for the sale of tire products in Russia, operating under the Vianor brand. According to the company, the network now includes 411 tire centers, of which only two are owned, and the rest are open as franchises. In 2015, 35 points opened, and 15 stopped working.

According to the general director of Nokian Tires Russia, Andrey Pantyukhov, in order to become a franchisee, the company needs to pay a one-time entrance fee of 60 thousand rubles, and then pay annual contributions to the marketing fund - 25 thousand rubles. Franchisees enter into a commercial concession agreement with Nokian Tires for a period of five years. “As a rule, franchise tire centers are opened by people with experience in this business,” explains Pantyukhov in an interview with RBC.

The requirements for the premises of a tire center are quite stringent, since Vianor positions itself as a premium network. “There must be a convenient location for clients, convenient access, there must be parking and a recreation area for clients,” Pantyukhov lists. The area of ​​the sales area must be at least 45 square meters. m, warehouse - from 100 sq. m. The franchisee must agree with the company on the external and internal design of the center. Nokian Tires recommends to its partners several agencies who are familiar with the requirements to carry out finishing work.

“A partner’s investment can be small - within a few hundred thousand rubles - and consist of upgrading an existing tire center,” says Pantyukhov. — If a tire center is built from scratch, investments can range from 40 million to 100 million rubles. — depending on the format, area and number of tire service stations.” To help a partner at the start, the company provides him with free financial support in the amount of 500 thousand rubles. for the first open center and up to 2 million rubles. for the next ones. In addition, Nokian Tires, at its own expense, supplies the franchisee with signs, sales and tire fitting equipment (it remains the property of the franchisor, and in the event of termination of the contract, the franchisee must return it or buy it back).

Nokian Tires compensates franchisees for half of the advertising costs for its tires. She provides free uniforms for salespeople and provides free sales training twice a year. In addition, for marketing support of franchisees, for which they pay a nominal 25 thousand rubles, Nokian Tires gives them all sorts of pleasant little things - fountain pens with Vianor symbols, sweets, sun shades for cars, ice scrapers, small bags, key rings, flavors . “Souvenir products are given to customers free of charge and are very popular among them,” Vianor franchisee Dmitry Shmatov from St. Petersburg tells RBC.

The main requirement for Vianor franchisees is to provide a multi-brand product line for the buyer, which will be dominated by Nokian Tires sales. Thus, within five years, new partners must increase the share of both the premium (Nokian Hakkapeliitta, Nokian Hakka) and mid-price segments (Nokian Nordman) to 60% of tire sales in the center. Nokian Tires does not control the selection of other brands in the line of partner tire centers, but they must be in stock. “We can sell tires of any brands, but Nokian tires are our priority,” Alexander Makarov, manager of the Vianor tire center in Mezhdurechensk (Kemerovo region), confirmed to RBC.

In addition, Nokian Tires sets a minimum recommended sales price. The franchisor checks the centers for compliance with the requirements: he sends secret shoppers who monitor the assortment, prices and ensure that Vianor sellers primarily offer the Nokian brand.

Nokian Tires does not track the financial performance of franchisees: it is impossible to bring more than 200 cities across Russia where there are Vianor centers to a single denominator, Pantyukhov explains. But the company proceeds from the fact that any tire center must sell at least 1.5 thousand tires per year, which usually gives sales of about 8 million rubles. “These are minimum levels - a large number of network members, especially in large cities, have turnovers that exceed these figures by an order of magnitude,” says Pantyukhov.

Franchisee's view

Commercial director of the Vianor tire center network in Barnaul, Dmitry Baginsky, believes that working with Nokian Tires is profitable. “They themselves are looking for partners in the regions and offering interesting terms of cooperation,” he told RBC. Baginsky opened the first center under the Vianor brand in Barnaul in 2008, having converted an existing tire shop, and now has four points under his management. Investments in the latter, built from scratch and opened in December 2014, were about 60 million rubles. It has an area of ​​about 1 thousand square meters. m there is not only a tire service, but also a large sales area and a warehouse.

Shmatov from St. Petersburg already owned a car repair shop when he decided to add a tire shop and shop to it in 2010; since he already had land, communications and part of the buildings, investments did not exceed 10 million rubles. He returned them after just over two years of work. Alexander Nakonechny from Novosibirsk says that the refurbishment of the existing center (without significant construction work) will cost 1-2 million rubles, which can be returned in six months.

The revenue of tire centers is subject to seasonality: in the high season (March-April and October-November), when there is a massive “re-shoeing” of cars, it can differ significantly from the low season (the remaining eight months of the year). Shmatov from St. Petersburg talks about 0.5 million in the low season and 1 million rubles. per month in high, and Baginsky from Barnaul - about 2.5-25 million rubles. for a tire center with an area of ​​1 thousand square meters. m. Such a big difference is explained not only by the surge in tire sales and demand for tire fitting. Oleg Khryashchev from Dmitrov near Moscow says that the conversion of buyers of new tires into tire service clients reaches 90%. “Almost everyone who buys tires prefers to have them installed there,” he tells RBC. “But additional income depends on the number of tire service stands: if you have only one post, then you cannot offer all clients to “change your shoes.” A representative of the Kirov company Regionshina says the average revenue of the Vianor center is 2-3 million rubles. per month, Nakonechny from Novosibirsk - about fluctuations of 1.5-2.5 million rubles. per month. “In the off-season, the tires generally stand, the rest of the goods work,” says Khryashchev from Dmitrov. According to his estimates, in the low season “non-tires” (oil, accessories, spare parts) can bring in up to 40% of revenue - twice as much as in the high season.

Nokian Tires does not control the markup. “In the best of times, our markup is 10-15% over the minimum price,” says Nakonechny from Novosibirsk. — When the season ends and many are left with leftovers, price anarchy begins—a holiday for the client. Traders go down to 5%, and some probably sell at the purchase price.” Shmatov from St. Petersburg says that some tire brands provide retailers with a retrobonus of 10-15% of sales volume. Stores, knowing that they are guaranteed to receive a percentage of sales, sell such tires at the purchase price.

Not a single Vianor franchisee wanted to give absolute profit figures: most talk about an average annual figure of 10-15% of revenue.

Additional discounts from the manufacturer allow you to increase the profitability of your business. According to Baginsky from Barnaul, with a certain sales volume (“several thousand tires per month”) Nokian Tires allows you to buy tires directly from the plant in Vsevolozhsk, bypassing distributors, which significantly reduces costs, since the manufacturer pays for the delivery of tires. “Reducing logistics costs allowed us to save 2.5% of the purchase price, which we paid for delivery to distributors,” says Baginsky. For partners who buy tires directly from the company, other concessions are possible, such as deferred payments.

Only large partners have the opportunity to purchase directly from the manufacturer - from a thousand tires per month, complains Shmatov from St. Petersburg. However, according to Baginsky, with smaller volumes this is not profitable: “The truck assumes a volume of from 800 to 1200 tires, with smaller volumes no manufacturer is interested in this.” There are no restrictions on the volume and frequency of purchases from regional distributors (35 across the country). “During the season - in October-November and March-April - you can purchase tires once a week,” says Shmatov from St. Petersburg. Out of season, he usually makes purchases once a month.

Most franchisees easily comply with the requirement of a 60 percent share of Nokian Tires products in sales. In Mezhdurechensk and Kirov, the share of Finnish tires even reaches 70%, but Nakonechny from Novosibirsk says that in the capital of Siberia even a share of 40% is considered a good indicator. “Other brands, like Bridgestone, have historically thrived in our region,” he explains. According to the entrepreneur, Nokian Tires understands deviations from standards - competition with other brands is quite high, and no one wants to lose a sales channel.

According to Khryashchev from Dmitrov, a big plus of Nokian Tires is the extended warranty on tires. “We change or repair tires for free, regardless of the nature of the damage: a hernia, a rupture, a puncture that cannot be repaired,” he says. The warranty is unlimited as long as the tire is subject to use (tread height not lower than 4 mm). Nokian Tires will reimburse all expenses of the franchisee for warranty work.

There used to be a markup!

Franchisees interviewed by RBC named increased competition from online stores as one of the main difficulties in the tire business, which led to a several-fold drop in the markup on Nokian Tires tires. “Six years ago we had a markup of 40-50%,” admits Baginsky from Barnaul. In addition, branded tire centers began to lose customers due to the fact that products began to be sold in hypermarkets at minimal prices, noted two entrepreneurs interviewed by RBC. “Hypermarkets really “squeeze all the juice” out of entrepreneurs, but in the case of Nokian this effect is less noticeable, since the company controls the minimum price for its products there too,” notes Shmatov from St. Petersburg.

When considering ideas about starting your own business, you need to pay attention to modern media. In particular, you can find a lot of tips on the Internet, ranging from articles with ideas for starting a business to extensive research on a certain type of activity. Let's take, for example, a section such as tire sales. And let's see if any forum will tell you how to start your own business.

Why tires

In this area, the seller is provided with a continuous, year-round (albeit with seasonal surges) influx of interested and solvent customers. The topic on how to start your own business on the car enthusiasts forum begins with the business of selling car tires.

In addition to selling tires from the manufacturer, it is quite possible to organize the sale of used tires. After all, drivers have different attitudes to their own safety. And if some people get rid of a set of tires after the first season, others will be happy to buy “almost new” tires cheaper for their old Zhiguli and will ride on them for several more years.

Why forums

Most of the articles on websites, as well as customer reviews in online stores, were written by the sellers themselves or at their request. Thus, they do not fully reflect all the information about negative aspects and difficulties. For anyone who would like to start their own business, a forum in the relevant direction will tell you what difficulties they will have to face.

There are quite a lot of offers in any area related to trade. And real reviews will help you choose a quality product. For those who are looking for where to start their own business, the forum will help them decide on the assortment and find out customer requirements.

For example, it is not easy for a novice businessman to determine what tires are needed for SUVs, what buyers of tires for buses and trucks pay attention to, and also which brands and models are preferred for motorcycles.

The automobile business is considered one of the most profitable. And this is no coincidence. After all, for example, for each car sold, Porsche receives about 17 thousand euros of profit, Audi - 4 thousand euros, Mercedes-Benz - about 3.5 thousand euros, and the smallest amount of 1 thousand euros is received by Opel. Impressive? Would you like this too? But we should not forget that with such high incomes, investments remain large. In this regard, for an ordinary novice businessman, the automobile business still begins not with the sale (car showroom) or assembly (opening a car factory) of cars, but with the accompanying ones for a given market niche services.

So, you can open a car repair shop in your garage or rented service station. At the same time, you can also sell car parts in your own workshop. However, an auto repair shop will require not only investments, but also knowledge, and in its absence, recruitment of personnel. For a business starting from scratch, this can be expensive.

Another thing is an auto shop, where you will sell spare parts and components for various brands of cars. Agree, for example, today every second resident of the capital who has their own car wants to buy tires in Moscow, because tires need to be changed according to the seasons. You also have to constantly look for original parts to ensure safe and long-term operation of your iron horse. Buying spare parts at a service station is often an obvious overpayment, because here you also pay for the speed of troubleshooting. Therefore, many try to buy auto parts in advance from third-party sales points. So why don't you open your own auto shop?

What will it take? First, find a place. It is better to choose a warehouse that is rented. It will cost less, and you can equip the area as you want. Secondly, you need to obtain a license for your new business. This procedure will take no more than a month. Thirdly, you need to find the product. And here there are several ways.

You can purchase wholesale quantities of tires, wheels, and spare parts for cash. You will pay less for buying in bulk. But do you have that kind of start-up capital? It is better to draw up contracts with manufacturers of wheels, tires, suspensions, headlights and other parts for the supply of goods with an after-payment upon sale. In this case, you will pay more for auto parts, but your earnings will be protected and stable. And the third way is that you can take out a loan for your business from a bank by applying for an overdraft, which involves repaying the loan upon purchases in your store.

In addition, you can become an official representative of one of the manufacturing companies and create your own online store. But we’ll talk about the nuances of this way of earning money next time. Effective development to you.

Many entrepreneurs are familiar with the idea of ​​buying used tires in Western countries and reselling them in the vast expanses of our country, so this business is simple and long established. You are invited to create your own company to buy used tires and retread them. This is a labor-intensive business, but very profitable.

The essence of tire retreading technology is that the new tread first goes through a vulcanization stage, and then is glued to already worn carcasses at lower temperatures than during the usual “welding” procedure. At a temperature of about 1000 degrees Celsius, secondary vulcanization is eliminated due to the weakening of the bonds between the cord and rubber.

The new tread, made from specially selected rubber compounds, has almost all the necessary properties that ensure its reliable and long-term operation, almost as good as new tires. The cost of such used tires is naturally less, but the quality is no worse. In operation, welded tires are practically no different from new ones. Although basic care of use, of course, will not hurt. For example, in Germany it is prohibited to install welded tires on the front axle of trucks.

So, the first step in your business will be to find a premises with access roads. After this, you need to purchase not very expensive equipment on lease and hire operators (two people to start with). Next, you should go around tire shops in search of used tires, most of which will gladly give you tires, even for free. After all, for them it’s just extra garbage that you can pick up at your own disposal. However, sometimes you will have to purchase tires, but their price will not be very high. Next, the tires must be reconditioned using special equipment, after which they will be completely ready for resale.

However, you should also take care of advertising. Any newspapers and magazines for car enthusiasts are suitable for this, and it would also be nice to make your own website on the Internet. Also try to visit all the automobile stores in your city with a favorable offer for the supply of your products. Regular sales of used tires to such stores will become a source of stable income for you.

Using retreaded used tires brings significant savings. Indeed, in transport companies, the cost of tires is second only to the cost of fuel. That is why sale of used tires- quite a profitable business. The cost of one “welded wheel” is half that of a new one, and the selling price differs only by 20-30%. In addition, the number of cars in our country increases by hundreds of thousands every year, which means that you are guaranteed a constant sales market!

• About the tire business
• Step-by-step plan for opening a tire store
• How much does a tire store owner make?
• Purchase of equipment
• Preparation of documents
• OKVED and taxation system
  • • • Similar business ideas:

The business of selling tires has always been, is and will be relevant as long as millions of cars drive on our roads. Despite the growing number of cars and car owners, entry into the tire business is not getting easier for new players. The reason for this is huge competition in the market, a large number of online players, and continuous price dumping. In fact, a newly minted entrepreneur has two options here: either invest millions in creating a large store with a huge assortment (in order to at least somehow stand out among competitors), or open a small service (tire fitting) and, based on it, a small trading department. Both options have the right to life, although the second requires much less financial resources to open, and accordingly looks like the least risky business...

About the tire business

The tire business is far from what it was 10-15 years ago. According to experienced businessmen, today an increasing number of car owners prefer to purchase tires in online stores. Especially in large cities and metropolitan areas. This certainly hits real retail stores hard. Therefore, in order to survive in an increasingly competitive environment, it is also necessary to move your business online and create an online store (the opening of which costs from 60 thousand rubles).

Although online things are not so sweet either. Other market players also understand the benefits of the Internet, which is why there are more and more online tire stores every year. However, it’s one thing to create an online store; any web programmer will do it for you. Another thing is to promote it and promote it as high as possible in search results. Advertising in Yandex Direct is an expensive pleasure, although it is a fairly effective means of attracting buyers. For example, 100 transitions to your website via Yandex Direct will cost you 1,500 - 2,000 rubles.

How much money do you need to open a tire store?

Be that as it may, the investment to open a tire store can amount to several million rubles. Taking into account that the premises will be rented. The main cost item is the creation of an assortment of tires. The main thing here is not to make a mistake with the initial purchase, so as not to overstock the warehouses with non-traditional items. If you have no experience, it is better to consult with experienced market players and study the market and demand as closely as possible. For example, the most popular tire sizes for foreign cars are as follows: 175/70 13, 175/65 14, 185/70 14, 195/60 15, 195/65 15, 205/65 15, 205/55 16. For expensive brands of cars (Toyota Prado, Volkswagen Touareg, etc.) sizes are in great demand: 225/65 17, 255/55 18, 265/65 17.

Some difficulties may arise with finding tire suppliers. The ideal option, although the longest, is to work for some time in a company that sells tires in your city or region (or find good friends there). This way you can thoroughly study the passenger tire market, which will subsequently greatly increase your chance of successfully building your business in this industry.

Experienced entrepreneurs argue that those stores that, in addition to trade, also develop service, have a greater chance of success. A good tire service that also sells tires will never fail. Tire fitters win customers much faster and easier, especially during the next “tire re-shoe” period. And it’s easier for the car owner - he bought tires from a tire shop and immediately replaced the old tires with new ones. In addition, tire shops sell used tires and earn good money from it. Therefore, the path from opening a tire shop, and then a sales department for the sale of tires, seems much “cheaper”, more reliable and proven.

On the Kolesa.ru forum, a user under the nickname “nbv” published a very interesting material entitled “The tire business has come to an end.” He said that today fewer and fewer businessmen are earning serious money in the tire business. Some large players, in their thirst to overtake their competitors, greatly reduce prices, selling tires almost at cost. As a result, they do not earn money themselves and do not allow others to do so.

Mistake of new entrepreneurs

The mistake of most market players is the pursuit of sales volumes. A wise manufacturer offers all sorts of bonuses to wholesalers; they stock up on thousands of tires, fill up their warehouses, and ultimately don’t know how to sell it all. It turns out that tires are sold with a ridiculous markup of 5-10%, instead of the required 30 percent markup. At the end of the season, such a company earns nothing, its employees quit, the company cannot develop its network, purchase new equipment, etc. The moral here is that you should not try to sell more, it is better to sell less, but at a higher price. After all, in order to sell more tires, you need more managers, more warehouse space, higher logistics costs, and so on.