Winston Tire Company

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Ban Winston Company is an American tire and chain service manufacturer based in Burbank, California, and founded by Sam Winston and Ray Oliver. The company was in business from 1962 to 2002 when it was acquired by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Video Winston Tire Company

Histori

Sam Winston started selling tires as a teenager after the death of his father when his mother married Ray Oliver. Oliver worked with Sam to sell wholesale tires in 1962. Two years later, the two men opened their first retail store in Glendale as Delta Ban dealers. Sam will earn a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Southern California in 1964.

The company's initial growth started with a slow start, with only four additional stores open in the first four years, however, the next two decades saw rapid expansion and further growth. In 1971, Sam would introduce his own tire line, Winston, and in 1976, he began to add services such as brake and wheel alignment.

Sam span id = Sam's_involvement_in_commercials "> Sam's involvement in ads

Over the years, beginning in the 1980s, Winston began starring as a pitchman in a series of television and radio advertisements for the company. Jean Craig, head of Kaverer Craig Inc., a Winston Tyre advertising firm started in 1982, said Winston did not particularly like being spokesman for Winston Tire, but he did so because of his reputation as a recognized personality in Winston Tire. businesses that attract great attention to consumers and keep their awareness high. Winston's competitors claim that these ads have been a factor in the growth of Winston Tire.

Sam's lawsuit, financial matters, and death

Winston Tire's reputation was hit hard by a 1993 state investigation, which found that some of Winston's stores made unnecessary car repairs. The company's sales were hurt after being investigated by an undercover agent from the Consumer Affairs Department who took the car in top condition to Winston's stores and said they paid more than $ 125 for the sale of spare parts and unnecessary services. In 1993, Winston Tire agreed to pay $ 1.4 million to settle the case out of court, which included the replacement of $ 450,000 to 20,000 subscribers. Despite the settlement, the company does not recognize the error, and as a result, the company regulates various consumer protection programs as a safeguard.

In fiscal 1994, Winston Tire posted a $ 647,000 loss on $ 134.9 million in sales, compared to a $ 1.2 million loss at $ 147.7 million in sales in 1993, according to Dun & Bradstreet. Despite all this, Winston Tire remains a lucrative company, according to Tom Bonburg, who at the time was chief executive of Winston Tire.

But the company suffered a major blow on Sept. 26, 1995, when Sam was killed in a car accident in Utah after being expelled from a 1995 Jeep Wrangler out of control with his wife Demetra behind the wheel. At the time of his death, the company had 172 stores throughout California and Arizona.

Changes of ownership, bankruptcy and acquisition by Goodyear

In May 1997, Winston Tire was acquired by Ban Heafner Company (now American Tire Distributor). Four years later, on May 15, 2001, Heafner sold the chain to Performance Management, Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana.

On January 19, 2002, Winston Tire filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

On October 28, 2002, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, a longtime supplier to the Banston Ban chain, acquired the company's assets and converted 44 out of 97 chain locations into Just Tyres outlets and sold the remainder to independent Goodyear existing dealers and other third parties.. The deal finally ended the company after 40 years in business.