| Please Help- Considering the possibility of a Tyre Dealership
Hello All,
I need help and advice from You Guys. I have been a Tour Operator/ Travel Agent for the last 12 years but absolutely hated my line of work.
Since the two things i am absolutely crazy about are Sports and All things automotive and there isn't much of a business opportunity here in Sports, I decided to close down my Travel Office operation and venture into a line of business which I am really interested in before i got too old and lost the guts to strike out- Automobiles.
I'll paste a similar thread about business opportunities in Car/ Bike Dealerships and Mechanical Carwash in "Ask the Gurus" section but here I'm just focusing on Tyres.
My town- Gangtok, Sikkim population about 8-9 Lakhs has a lot of new cars hitting the market every month ( A lot of money in the state as compared to other N.E. neighbors) but we don't have a proper Company Authorized Tyre Dealership. There is an independent Electronic Wheel Balancing and Alignment shop which seems to do quite well and a couple of small independent shops selling Tyres- but nothing what You would call a proper company owned Tyre Dealership with proper stock and facilities. Most of the Car accessories shops and the Car dealerships here also sell tyres but i believe they charge a lot there and nobody seems to have a good dedicated stock.
I sense a good business opportunity here as most of the owners of passenger cars (Me included) head off to Siliguri about 125 kms away to buy a set of new tyres.
What i would like to know from the Resident experts are-
- First of All, the feasibility of the project as a whole. Now All i know about tyres are from this wonderful site and this section in particular. But surprisingly, i seem to know more about upsizing and PCD etc. than the owners of many of the Big Tyre shops in Siliguri, so that gives me a little confidence...
-How much would it cost to open a reasonably good sized Tyre Dealership with good stock of Tyres and Aloys, Electronic Wheel Balancing and Alignment Machines, etc. What else? A Cafetaria and a Carwash? Mechanical?
- Where would i get the staff to work on these machines? Apart from a Good manager, How many do I need to employ? What would be their salary and my monthly operational budget regarding electricity, Machine maintainence, other costs apart from the cost of stock? If I wanted to operate these machines myself, how would i go about learning to do so?
- Which Tyre Brand should i tie- up with initially before going on to become a Multi-branded store? As far as Alloys go, apart from Aura and Neo, should i focus on stocking the other non- Indian brands? What about exchange policy and upsizing with stock Tyres and steel rims? Where would i dispose of these?
- Who in say, Kolkata should i talk to? Would Minkoo Aggarwal help if i asked him? I met at his shop a couple of years ago and he seemed a rather nice guy. Unfortunately i don't have his card or his cell number. Which company should i talk to? Do i have to be a sub- dealer for a major Tyre dealer in Kolkata or can i deal with the company independently?
- If required, i could come and meet anyone of You guys if You feel that i need to come personally and have a look at operations being run at Kolkata/ Delhi/ other cities.
- How much land (Space) would be required in sq. ft for the above if i decide to go two-three storey high? Would it have to be on the National Highway? (Better visibility). Buying Land Bang next to the National Highway is a really expensive proposition.
- What else do I have to consider getting into this line of business?
I know this is asking a lot, but please help me in whatever way You can in giving info. and advice.
Thank You ever so much,
Wongchuk. | 
17th January 2009, 11:42
