Just got back and spoke to the franchise owner - His comments are personal and opinion but very interesting.
1. Coopers was a very long lasting tyre but the SUV tyres are no longer made in USA and thus not as long lasting ( KM ) so not his go to tyre in that class. Still a place in 4wd / truck. Mickey Thompson still the supreme 4wd / truck tyre.
He is not sure if there is a changed driving pattern as he says weather events have certainly impacted and you cannot as yet say you are out of the Covid effects. He does caravan / 4wd modifications and thus the mix of his business does change over a year. So right now many of the jobs are more about getting the 4wd or caravan ready for summer. He isn't convinced there is less business but does acknowledge its a lot more competitive. I also thought that the deals would not be there given the supply chain issues but he had my tyres on a 4 for 3 that had officially ended but he still had one set left from the September promotion. Whether than is sales pitch I dont know - the alternative quote was as high as the individual tyre price I paid for 3 but it was around 15% more than I got mine for.
He told me that there are a lot of cheap tyres coming into the country and even second hand tyres that get graded and sold here.
He did say that when things get tough people buy down. Didn't really see a system problem but said if its a new thing he doesn't know what he isn't getting because he has worked with the old system for a long time.
Overall got the impression that business was just a bit tighter and that Covid had dealt them a blow they were still recovering from and there were supply chain issues. That he was still waiting for some orders to be delivered.
One dealer in a more affluent and outdoor younger community probably isn't a good sample but I was very interested in his comments about Coopers.
NTD Price at posting:
67.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)