Website www.belletire.com Number of locations 93 (October 2015) Number of employees 1,900 Type of business Private | Founder Sam Waze CEO Jack Lawless (Sep 2015–) Revenue 350 million USD (2013) Founded 1922 | |
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Key people Don Barnes III, PresidentJack Lawless, CEOWayne Shotwell, Logistics VPMark Donehue, Distribution Director Profiles | ||
Belle tire tire change training
Belle Tire is an American tire, wheel and automotive service retailer headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan. Belle Tire was founded in 1922, after its first location opened in Detroit, Michigan, by Sam Waze. It currently operates 93 locations in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
In the 1960s, Don Barnes Sr., a Kelly Tire salesman who had been a supplier to Belle Tire, partnered with Waze. The partnership proved to be successful with the company opening several other locations in the Metro Detroit area.
In the 1980s, the Barnes family bought Waze’s remaining shares and continued expansion of the business through acquisitions of American Tire, Capital Tire, Delta Tire, Great Lakes Tire. The company grew significantly in the 1990s via the acquisition of the Tireman and Metro 25 chains in the 1990s, and Sears' NTB locations in Michigan in the early 2000s. Since the mid 2000s Belle Tire has continued its expansion throughout Michigan, building new stores in the Metro Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Lansing areas.
In 2007, Belle Tire added glass repair to its list of auto services.
In 2013, the company launched an initiative to redesign its retail stores to make them more customer-friendly.
Most recently, the company expanded its retail footprint to Indiana with four locations; two in South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart. This expansion in 2015, marked an important moment in the company’s more than 90-year history in the tire business. It was the company's first move into new territory since expanding from Michigan to northern Ohio more than 30 years ago.
In 2015, Don Barnes, III was named President.