Bridgestone 2002 Annual Report Download - page 9

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07
A well-executed multibrand strategy underlies
Bridgestone Americas’ comeback in the North
American market for replacement tires. That
strategy offers consumers a “good, better, best”
range of choice among Dayton-, Firestone- and
Bridgestone-brand tires. In retail unit sales by
brand, Dayton remains strong, Firestone has
begun growing again and Bridgestone is surging.
Bridgestone Americas reminds consumers
and automakers of its edge in tire technology
through continuing success in CART competition
and in IndyCar racing. It supplies Bridgestone-
brand tires to all of the CART competitors, and
it is the sole supplier to IndyCar teams, which
use Firestone-brand tires. A four-year exclusive
supply contract concluded in 2002 between
Bridgestone Americas and the IndyCar series
has underlined the company’s long-term com-
mitment to the Firestone brand.
Latin America occupies an increasingly impor-
tant place in Bridgestone Group strategy for the
Americas. Demand in the region continues to
grow, and plants there are proving to be highly
cost-competitive sources of high-quality tires.
The ongoing wave of capital spending in the
Bridgestone Group includes investment in
expanding production at Bridgestone Americas’
plants in Costa Rica and in Mexico. That invest-
ment is primarily to support increased exports to
North America.
Americas
The most convincing indicator of the recovery
under way at Bridgestone Americas is the
continuing loyalty and commitment of the
independent retailers in the company’s “family
channel” sales network. Those are retailers
who display the Bridgestone and Firestone
signage and attain agreed sales targets for
Bridgestone Americas’ products. Essentially
all of them remained loyal to the company
through the trying ordeal of the 2000 product
recall, and new retailers have continued to join
the program. Family channel retailers in North
America—including company-owned stores—
number about 4,700.