Discount Tire, an Arizona-based national retailer of tires and wheels, is acquiring Tire Rack of South Bend.
The deal is expected to close by Dec. 31.
“We believe we can provide a greater impact through better service to customers that have chosen Tire Rack for their tire and wheel needs and provide better opportunities for our team members through this partnership,” said Mike Joines, Tire Rack CEO. “Joining the Discount Tire family is an incredible milestone for our business, an opportunity for our team members and a testament to the hard work and legacy of Pete and Wilma Veldman.”
Dean Muglia, CEO of Discount Tire and a 32-year veteran of the business, will continue as CEO of Discount Tire. Joines, who has led Tire Rack the past 42 years, will join the combined organization as CEO of Tire Rack along with Matt Edmonds and Mark Veldman of Tire Rack's executive team.
The Tire Rack executive team and management team will continue in their roles to advance the company's digital sales and online customer experience and partner with Discount Tire on integration efforts. The Veldman family, founders of Tire Rack, will have representation on the board of directors of Discount Tire.
Discount Tire, which was founded by Bruce T. Halle in 1960 and remains privately held, said it will continue using the Tire Rack brand name as Tirerack.com online, TR Wholesale Solutions in car dealer and wholesale channels, and Tire Rack Mobile Installation for its mobile installation business.
Tire Rack was founded by Peter and Wilma Veldman along with Joines in 1979 in Indianapolis and grew rapidly as an online venture. As of Oct. 31, Tire Rack, a privately held company, employed more than 950 people.
Tire Rack will become wholly owned by Discount Tire, also a privately held family business. Tire Rack employees will be retained and its South Bend headquarters will remain open, Discount Tire said.
“We have for many years admired one another from afar, each pushing the industry forward to meet customers where they are most confident shopping for tires and wheels,” said Dean Muglia, CEO at Discount Tire. “We could not be more excited about adding Tire Rack's operations and its excellent team led by Mike Joines, who I've come to know well.”
Discount Tire, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, operates 1,100 stores in 37 states. Tire Rack operates more than 2.8 million square feet of space, spread across 10 distribution centers around the country.
