At the beginning of 2025, Bloomsburg, Pa.-based Steve Shannon Tire Co. acquired three retail
locations from The Tire Warehouse Inc., which is headquartered in Albany, N.Y.
The Tire Warehouse was founded by John McCall. The dealership has served the Albany area since 1982.
McCall told MTD that at 74 years of age he was ready to retire and transition out of the industry.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and it’s a good business and an enjoyable business. But I’m at the point where it’s time to move along.”
Deciding to sell
McCall says he had been approached by “almost everyone” over the years to sell his business.
“Either I wasn’t ready or the price wasn’t right or I thought it wouldn’t be a good fit for my employees.”
McCall had 15 locations at one point, but decided he wanted to downsize to only three. Over time, he sold 12 locations to various buyers.
“I would just sell one location to one guy and maybe another location to an employee. It all happened gradually and over time.”
McCall says his dealership’s locations were spread across a large geographic area.
“I had stores as far as Pittsfield, Mass., and almost down to Oneonta, N.Y.,” he notes.
Steve Shannon Tire’s close proximity to Tire Warehouse’s three remaining outlets helped win over McCall.
“They’re based in Pennsylvania, which is close to where we’re based, and they (already) have stores in New York.”
He says New York is a highly regulated state. And that’s something not everyone is aware of or familiar with.
Another factor was the dealerships’ philosophical alignment, according to McCall.
“I feel like (Steve Shannon Tire) has a lot of thoughts and directions that are basically the same as I've had."
McCall says Steve Shannon Tire called him with a proposition to buy his remaining stores.
"They were looking to expand in this market and I was looking to get out."
All 35 Tire Warehouse employees will stay on at their current locations.
Advice for sellers
When asked to offer advice for other tire dealers looking to sell locations, McCall hesitates.
"Everybody's circumstances are different. Maybe you have a family? Great — pass it down to the family. But I didn’t have any kids, so that wasn’t the right direction for me.”
Beyond financial considerations, McCall says make sure the potential deal feels right.
“The timing for me and (Steve Shannon Tire) was great because I wanted out and they wanted to expand,” he says, adding that he plans to spend his newfound free time “going fishing!”
