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Bridgestone: Martin Krauss in an interview
Bridgestone is the world's largest tire producer. MARTIN KRAUSS directs fortunes in Austria and explains in an interview how the tire manufacturer is preparing itself for the future.
Bridgestone: Martin Krauss in an interview
VEHICLE INDUSTRY: Mr. Krauss, Bridgestone Austria was recently in a restructuring phase, among other things, the field service was expanded. What is the status quo?
Martin Krauss:As a result, we were able to noticeably improve internal processes and overall efficiency and are now very well prepared for the tasks ahead. We will probably end this year's financial year slightly above our expectations.
Bridgestone is the official advertising partner of the Olympic Games. At the same time, there is a very emotional advertising campaign with individual athletes. Why these marketing measures?
The entire industry still has the problem that tires are perceived as “low-interest products”. But Bridgestone wants to charge its products with emotions. Motorsport sponsorships are a well-known way to achieve this, but we decided differently in order to create a broader impact. After all, we are now in a marketing league like IBM and Coca Cola. The connection to athletes is not accidental. Every single athlete supported by Bridgestone has had to contend with severe blows of fate. Afterwards they all became stronger and more successful. That's exactly what we want to present to the outside world: no matter what happens, we can do it and come back stronger. That's why we consciously decided on the campaign "Pursue your dream. No matter what."
“Market prices follow the logical laws of supply and demand.”Martin Krauss, Sales Manager Bridgestone Austria
Let's talk about sales structures. What is the focus at Bridgestone in Austria?
We have to offer our products where consumers expect them. The aim of our sales strategy is to ensure the best possible, needs-oriented availability of our products – both for retailers and for end consumers.
Many tire dealers tell us that margins have been getting smaller and smaller for years. Some blame online trading. How do you feel about this?
Market prices follow the logical laws of supply and demand. This is also the case in the tire market and neither trade nor industry can escape this. Trade and industry also have to face the market challenges caused by different cost structures in the trade channels. On the manufacturer side, we can contribute to value creation by launching innovative new products and positioning them accordingly. Our DriveGuard is a good example here, and with the new Turanza T005 we will bring the wetness specialist onto the market from 2018.