Walked away with a light blue eye

Walked away with a light blue eye

Mister Rodlauer, please briefly summarize how the Corona year 2020 went for Goodyear Dunlop in Austria. 

To summarize: We came away with a light blue eye. On the consumer side, the market decline in the tire business was around 12 percent. Corona has shown that people were traveling less and mileage has fallen. We ended up below our 2019 level – that hurts. But Corona hit everyone hard, so for us it's just a light blue eye. We also notice an east-west divide in the B2B sector. The West may have benefited from the closed borders, but this is less pronounced in the East. Overall, from our point of view, we have to say very clearly: We are not satisfied with the financial year. That's why: we're glad the year is over. Hook underneath, look forward. 

Then let’s do this: What’s planned for 2021?

The goal for 2021 is clear: To strengthen the trust of our partners. This year we will dedicate ourselves more than ever to tire retailers. I believe that this is important. We have a strong new product portfolio, the first test results this year prove this. Our ability to deliver is good, and the first orders for stocking make us very positive. And when we come to electric mobility: Goodyear can equip all electric cars currently available in Austria with tires. 

Speaking of electric cars. A tire manufacturer’s drive technology can be relatively the same, right? The main thing is four tires and the business is rolling, right?

Basically: yes. (smiles) No, joking aside. Of course, electric cars have completely different requirements for a car tire: the cars have significantly more torque, but at the same time many models are heavier and the rolling resistance should be as low as if there were no tires installed at all. This means: the tires are large and narrow. But the Corona crisis has already shown that tires are important and in demand even in times of crisis. I don't want to talk about a crisis-proof product, but more crisis-proof. 

Goodyear sells its tires in Germany directly to end customers online.

That's right. This is a pilot project. I can rule out direct sales to end customers in Austria. The German pilot project is successful and 80 percent of the end customers acquired are new customers. But we will focus on our local partners in Austria: tire retailers and car dealerships. 

And that brings us to the popular area of ​​tension: car dealership vs. tire retailer. 

I can't say whether this is an area of ​​tension. I believe that both have different approaches and can score points with specific services. The tire specialist dealer is the professional when it comes to tires: He can score points with his specialist and advisory expertise, and of course - depending on the size of the warehouse - also with faster availability and space for the depot. The car dealership probably has an easier time in the workshop because the cars are in the house more often during the warranty period and you can see the customer and service them more often. 

Do you understand when the tire retailer complains that the car dealership gets the same purchasing conditions? 

Not really. The margin that can be achieved is important and what counts is not just the purchasing advantage, but above all what I can offer the customer. Here vehicle and tire development plays equally into the hands of both: the wheels on modern cars are becoming larger and wider - and therefore also heavier. This makes reconnecting in the garage without having storage space much more arduous for end customers than it was a few years ago. And in addition to the weight, the new wheels also take up more space. Storage (tire storage) and repositioning are becoming more and more popular. A clear advantage for specialist tire dealers because they often have larger depots and can therefore store more tires and gain more customers. A quick note: One of our partners charges the depot based on customs size: clever.

So there is no preference for the two distribution channels at Goodyear?

We are consumer-centric. We want end customers to get our products where they want them. The fact is that well over 60% of all tires are still installed on cars by tire retailers. And as mentioned, we will look to further deepen our partnerships there in the future.

Finally: The mobility of the future will...

Dress again. I believe that the need for mobility will increase significantly again after the corona pandemic. It may be that mobility is currently being redefined, but the free choice to travel from A to B while discovering new things or simply wanting to have fun is part of us as humans. And that will want to be lived out again.