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The founder of Pneus-Online.fr, Alexis Nerguisian, chose the Mondial de l'Automobile event to launch the company's Europe-wide puncture guarantee, an innovative service which is typical of the resourcefulness of this online player in a market which is rapidly expanding (...)

Your prices are 20% to 30% lower than the norm in this market. How are you able to negotiate such margins from your suppliers?
First off, we use our volumes to secure the keenest prices from our suppliers. Then, because we have no infrastructure to pay for, we are able to pass on these savings to our customers, meaning they pay a highly competitive price. In addition, we also negotiate the best fitting prices with our partner garages, given that Pneus-Online does not just provide the tyres, it provides a complete package including delivery and fitting. Moreover, aside from the choice of 30 or so tyre manufacturers available to our customers, they can have them delivered to any garage or address they wish.

How did you persuade the garages and repair centres to join your network of approved fitting centres?
I would like to use one of our fitting centres operating from a Total service station near Paris as an example. The garage owner, who also sells used cars, was able to sell one of his cars to one of our customers. This is a concrete example of the type of additional services our partners can sell. Another example might be if the mechanic notices the tracking is out on a vehicle, he could suggest adjusting the steering geometry (...)

At present, all payments to Pneus-Online are made remotely. Do you see a time when some of the payments are made directly to your fitting centres?
No. It would be complicated with no discernible benefit. Remote payment is not an obstacle to sales at Pneus-Online because all the payment methods we accept, namely Visa/Mastercard, Bank Transfer and Cheque, are secure. The length of time we have been established also works in our favour and is actually one of our main advantages over our competitors (...).

Faced with the proliferation of Internet tyre sales firms do you expect to see the market rationalise soon?
Yes, absolutely. The market is exploding with more and more firms entering the sector. New sites are launched, often without any market research, and there will not be room for everyone. In addition, the entry price, especially in terms of communications, is getting higher and higher. Actually, since the beginning of the year, the market has already started to consolidate (...).

This month sees the launch of your European Tyre Guarantee. What prompted you to offer this new service?
Firstly, we wanted to offer an innovative service which no one else was providing. But also, given that tyres are a vital safety component of a vehicle, we were keen to broaden the range of services available to our customers.

Does this guarantee also cover tyre repairs or just replacement?
If the tyre can be repaired, the guarantee does not come into play, simply because tyres today offer ever increasing performance and technical advancement. The technology used in tyre manufacture means that repairs have become rarer. This is particularly true of Run Flat tyres. Finally, for the safety of the driver, tyre specialists are now much more inclined to recommend replacement (...).

Extract : Autobiz.fr - Mohamed Aredjal - 5 October 2006