Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. has added three stores since its sale to Meritage Group LP was announced nearly six months ago. The new outlets are located in Arvada, Colo.; Klamath Falls, Ore.; and Fresno, Calif.
The Arvada location opened in late-October, the Klamath Falls store opened in November and the Fresno outlet opened in late-December. (Meritage finalized its purchase of Les Schwab in November 2020.)
The new outlets bring Les Schwab’s company-owned store count up to 444 locations. The Bend, Ore.-based dealership also has 54 member-dealer stores.
“Everything is going extremely well” under Les Schwab’s new owner, according to Dale Thompson, the dealership’s chief marketing officer.
“Now that we've had some time to work together, the impressions Meritage presented during the sale process are more than confirmed. They are terrific owners and together we plan to continue to build the brand and grow the company into the future."
In late-2019, Les Schwab’s board announced that it had put the company, which was founded in 1952 by the late Les Schwab, up for sale.
Less than a year later - in September 2020 - it was announced that Meritage, a California-based investment group, had stepped forward to buy the dealership, which has locations across 10 western states.
“We see Les Schwab Tires as an ideal investment,” Aubrey Barth, managing director of Meritage, said at the time. “The company’s exceptional employees and programs, strong financials and respected, customer-focused brand set it up for success for years to come.”
“Meritage is involved with our leadership team on the strategic direction of the company, but our existing management team is solely responsible for running the business” on a day-to-day basis, Thompson told MTD.
For more about Meritage’s acquisition of Les Schwab, click here.
