Expansion into tire business
Monro expanded into the tire business during the 2000s. In 2002, it acquired Kimmel Automotive Inc, and its 34 Kimmel Tire & Auto and Tread Quarters stores in Maryland and Virginia.[8] In 2004, Monro purchased five Rice Tires locations[9] and 26 Mr. Tire stores, followed by another 10 stores in 2005.[10] In November 2005, Monro acquired a 13% stake in the 101-store Strauss Discount Auto chain, with options to acquire buy the rest of the company by April 2007.[11] However, by August 2006, Strauss had declared bankruptcy and Monro chose not to exercise its purchase option.[12]
In 2006, Monro obtained 75 ProCare shops from bankruptcy, converting 44 to Monro Muffler Brake & Service centers and 31 to Mr. Tire outlets; the shops had previously been owned by Standard Oil of Ohio and BP prior to their bankruptcy.[13] It acquired Valley Forge Tire & Auto Centers, based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and Craven Tire & Auto, based in Baileys Crossroads, Virginia, in 2007. The purchases added 19 retail stores to Monro’s portfolio, all of which were rebranded under the Mr. Tire name.[14] That August, Gross was also named chairman of the company.[15] In 2009, Monro also purchased 26 Autotire Car Care Centers for $10 million as well as 46 Tire Warehouse Central stores for $34 million.[16][17]
In 2010, Monro acquired Import Export Tire Co., a five-store tire and auto repair chain in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metro region,[18] and Courthouse Tire, a three-store tire and undercar care facilities in the Fredericksburg, Virginia.[19] In June 2011, the company purchased 24 Vespia Tire Center locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.[20] Monro also bought six Terry’s Tire Town stores in October, turning them into Monro Muffler Brake locations.[21]
In March 2012, the company acquired the Norfolk, Virginia-based Kramer Tire Co., which operated 20 retail locations, two wholesale tire centers, and two truck tire centers at the time.[22] Later that year, it bought 18 Colony Tire retail stores in North Carolina and Virginia in exchange for the Kramer assets.[23] Gross was appointed executive chairman and president John Van Heel was named CEO starting in October.[24] In November 2012, Monro acquired Tire Barn Warehouse, which operated 32 stores in Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee. At the time, it was considered the 34th largest independent tire dealer chain in the U.S.[25] In December, it purchased Enger Auto Service & Tires, Tire King Complete Car Care, and Ken Towery's Tire & AutoCare, a 27-store chain based in Kentucky and Indiana.[26]
By May 2013, Monro carried 937 stores in 22 states.[27] It bought the 10-store Curry's Auto Service chain in the Washington D.C. metro area in July.[28] In November, Monro bought four of the eight S&S Tire & Auto Service Centers based in Lexington, Kentucky and six Carl King Tire stores in Delaware and Maryland.[29][30]
Monro entered three new states with acquisitions in 2014. It bought nine Lentz USA Automotive Service Centers and eight Ken Rock Tire stores in Michigan.[31] It then acquired nine Wood & Fullerton stores in Atlanta, Georgia, and re-bannered them under the Mr. Tire name. Monro acquired 35 Tire Choice & Total Car Care stores in Florida,[32] then continued into 2015 by buying the nine-store Gold Coast Tire & Auto Center and eight-store Martino Tire & Service Center chains. These stores were reopened under the Tire Choice banner.[33][34] In May, Monro announced the acquisition of the Car-X brand, and would continue to operate all of its 146 locations, across 10 states, as a franchise.[35] That summer, it also completed the acquisition of four Windsor Tire stores in Massachusetts and 27 Kost Tire and Auto Care stores in New York.[36]
In 2016, Monro purchased Clark Tire & Auto Inc., which operated 26 stores in North Carolina. It also acquired 11 additional stores owned by six independent tire dealers from Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Florida.[37] The company announced in June 2017 that Brett Ponton was named president and chief executive officer.[38]
