AKRON (April 28, 2010)—Goodyear has phased the Remington associate brand out of its consumer tire product lineup but continues to make and sell Remington truck tires.
In place of the Remington brand—which Goodyear has controlled since 1999 when it acquired majority ownership of Dunlop Tire Corp.—the Akron-based tire maker is steering dealers toward its Dunlop and/or Kelly brands.
Remington is the second associate brand Goodyear has phased out in the past year. Last fall it dropped Republic and reclassified its Fierce brand as a tire line within its Kelly business unit.
The decision leaves Goodyear with only one other associate brand, the Steelmark radial truck tire line imported from China.
As recently as a few years ago, Goodyear marketed 10 associate brands: Centennial, Hallmark, Kelly, Lee, Monarch, Pacemark, Remington, Republic, Star and Steelmark.
In comments made to analysts during a first quarter earnings conference call today, the company attributed part of its improved revenue per tire figure over the past year to its decision to concentrate on its flag brands. Reducing the number of brands helps reduce manufacturing complexity, the company said.