Five Million Tires Gone: Could Five Million More Soon Follow?
This case describes a marketing decision faced by Stuart Schuette, CEO and president of American Tire Distributors (ATD). He was informed that the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company had decided to drop ATD as a wholesaler and to reroute the tires through a new distribution channel. Goodyear had just announced plans for a joint venture with Bridgestone Americas, maker of Bridgestone and Firestone tires, to create TireHub, a nationwide company-owned wholesaler that would distribute the brands of both companies. ATD still remained a distributor for the Bridgestone brands. He pondered what possible news the next month would bring. Was it just a matter of time before Bridgestone also severed its relationship with ATD in favor of TireHub? Could ATD endure losing 25% of its sales volume in a given year? Students are asked what Schuette can do, if anything, to prevent Bridgestone from taking away another five million tires?
In completing this assignment, students should be able to:
1. Analyze external environmental factors affecting channel members
2. Construct a SWOT analysis related to a marketing management decision
3. Compare and contrast types of governing structures used in marketing channels
4. Evaluate the impact of channel management decisions on channel members
5. Defend a chosen course of action for a given channel management decision