It’s been 14 months since Mavis Tire Express Services Corp. acquired 595 NTB Tire & Service Centers and Tire Kingdom stores from TBC Corp.
In this MTD exclusive, David Sorbaro, who shares CEO duties at Mavis with his brother, Stephen Sorbaro, provides an update on the integration of the locations into Mavis’ portfolio.
MTD: More than one year later, how is the integration of NTB and Tire Kingdom into Mavis' operations coming along?
Sorbaro: (It’s) coming along well. Fortunately, there were a lot of great people in the organization, so we never felt that we were starving for talent. All of those team members have been integrated into the Mavis organization. All of the ‘people integration’ is behind us.
MTD: Is the integration on schedule or ahead of schedule? Have there been any challenges along the way?
Sorbaro: Everything has pretty much gone as expected. We knew going in that the older, physically larger stores would be more challenging to operate and that has been true. Sometimes when facilities are larger than required there is a tendency to create clutter and disorganization.
MTD: Are all of the nearly 600 NTB and Tire Kingdom stores still open? Have any closed since last year?
Sorbaro: Twenty-five or so older, poorly located stores have been closed. This was also expected.
MTD: Have any NTB and/or Tire Kingdom stores been converted to the Mavis brand and format? If so, how many and why? Or conversely, is the plan to allow NTB and Tire Kingdom stores to continue to operate under their existing brand names and if so, why?
Sorbaro: No Tire Kingdom stores have been rebranded nor are there plans to do so. Some NTB stores which are in close proximity to Mavis brand stores have been rebranded to Mavis.
MTD: What further investments is Mavis' ownership planning to make in NTB/Tire Kingdom stores and overall business, including Mavis-branded outlets? Are there plans to expand the NTB/Tire Kingdom brands into other geographies?
Sorbaro: We are always looking to expand all of our brands and are willing to make significant investments in order to do so.
MTD: Are you looking at other dealerships/tire store chains to acquire? Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth?
Sorbaro: We see growth coming from increases in same-store sales, adding new stores and possibly through acquisition.
Additional MTD articles about Mavis’ acquisition of Tire Kingdom and NTB can be found below:
TBC Sells Retail Stores to Mavis
Experts Break Down Mavis-TBC Deal
