Vegas Goodyear dealer may expand under new owner

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Superior Tire and Auto Service Centers, the largest Goodyear dealer in Las Vegas, is looking to expand under the new ownership of California-based Mountain View Tire Co.

The Marlo D. Reimer family quietly sold the chain of 15 stores two years ago. The transaction was revealed in a lawsuit over the sale filed last month in Clark County District Court.

Under terms of the agreement, Rancho Cucamonga-based Mountain View's STI Acquisition LLC was to pay half of the purchase price Nov. 11, 1999, and the balance Nov. 11, 2000. But a year ago, STI filed a claim against funds in escrow and issued new dispersal instructions to First Security Trust.

Neither the purchase price nor the amount of money now in dispute was disclosed in the lawsuit.

The sellers of the chain of 15 Superior Tire stores, the Reimer family, filed suit in District Court, charging that "a substantial portion of claims made by STI were improper and not authorized pursuant to the merger agreement."

Reimer could not be reached for comment and his attorney said the family had no comment on the matter.

The attorney for Mountain View said she didn't expect the suit to have any impact on the sale or the day-to-day operation of the company.

"The company hasn't been served, but my understanding is that it's a small matter involving the prior owners of the business and it will have no impact on the business as a going-forward basis," said attorney Sharen Neuhardt by phone from her Ohio office.

In the meantime, Mountain View's leadership has stepped in and named managers for the Las Vegas operation. It also has begun plans to expand the company's presence in a market dominated by Big O Tire Stores and challenged by Superior, Ted Wiens Tire & Auto and Discount Tire of Nevada Inc.

Superior was incorporated as Superior Tire Co., in 1952, by L.E. "Andy" Anderson after operating for about 10 years as a franchise. Reimer, Anderson's general manager, acquired the company from him in the mid-1980s when Anderson retired.

When Reimer decided to retire in the late 1990s, the company was sold to Mountain View, a company with 22 stores that is aggressively expanding in Southern California and recently expanded into Orange County with four stores. The company is headed by Chief Executive Nick Mitsos. Although Mountain View is building its own corporate identity in California, company officials say they will keep the valuable Superior Tire name in Nevada.

"Superior has been in business in some form for 58 years (in Nevada) and from 1990 to 1997, it doubled in size," said Kevin Adler, one of the company's district managers. "We plan to continue that growth."

Adler explained that when the chain was acquired by Mountain View, two of the stores were sold to Big O Tire. With 13 stores left in the chain, the company is looking to expand to 25 within five years. The first new store in the expansion is expected to open within three months.

The new store is being built at Rainbow Boulevard and Dewey Street. Several other property sites are in negotiations, Adler said.

Adler said the purchasing power of the combined companies will enable Superior to pass on savings to consumers. And, as part of Superior's continued relationship with Goodyear, the company has taken on the company's Gemini car maintenance system.

Darren Michels, the other Superior district manager for Nevada, explained that the Gemini system is a no-pressure car-care education program that enables service technicians to discuss cars with consumers in laymen terms, focusing on preventive maintenance. Mitsos serves as an adviser to the Gemini program.

"If we tell a customer he needs a new CV boot, we can explain how it ties in with the rest of the car," Adler said. "We can put the put the two pictures together for the customer so that they know exactly what the problem is."

In addition to offering Goodyear products, Superior sells a company brand tire under the Cordovan label, manufactured by TBC Corp., Memphis, Tenn. TBC owns Big O as a subsidiary.

Tim Squires, a district manager with Mountain View who is now splitting his time between California and Las Vegas, said the company lost a handful of employees to Big O Tire when the two stores were sold in the Superior transaction.

But when the transition occurred from Superior to Mountain View, there were no layoffs. The company currently has about 155 Las Vegas-area employees.