Hankook Tire has announced it will acquire JAX Tyres, Australia’s largest tire retailer. Hankook Tire will incorporate JAX Tyres into Hankook Tire group by acquiring a 100 percent stake from Fred Hurrell, chairman of JAX Tyres, and others.

Through the acquisition, Hankook Tire says it plans to grow into a global top-tier company by expanding customer relationships and strengthening its competitiveness in the B2C distribution sector as a mainstay of new business, as an extension of the B2B characteristics of tire manufacturing industry. In particular, the company says it will strengthen its distribution competitiveness from Asia to the global market by applying an advanced franchise system to its distribution network. Hankook Tire will expand its growth model not only from the hardware-oriented business such as a plant establishment but also the software’s growth, including distribution channels and premium services.

JAX Tyres is a tire retail and a distribution franchise offering price competitiveness and leading customer service. The company opened its first store in Sydney, Australia, in 1949 and currently operates 83 franchise stores. Unlike ordinary tire stores, JAX Tyres’ all stores are transparently open similar to a luxury car dealership. The company differentiated itself with the modern style exterior and a customer-friendly interior which customers can visit easily and intimately.

Customers can check the price and designate any offline store where they want to make a purchase. JAX Tyres’ real-time tire price update online has become a standard for pricing tires in Australia, according to Hankook. In addition, the store prices are kept same as indicated online. With these endeavors of price transparency, the online tire store has maintained leading website page views in Australia. In addition, the customer can visualize the tire mounted on the vehicle through online simulation and are able to estimate the price in advance through the website. As a result, customer satisfaction ratings are at an all-time-high, the company says.

Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire said, “We will solidify the position as the global top tier brand by extending the role of holding company. We will concentrate more on enhancing global competitiveness by diversifying the inorganic business in the automotive sector based on organic growth of tires.”