Beaurepaires, an Iconic Australian Tyre Retailer, to Shut Down 100 Stores
700 employees are expected to lose their jobs as Beaurepaire plans to shut down within the next year. The closure of this 100-year-old Australian and New Zealand tyre retail and repair chain follows a failed acquisition offer to rival Bob Jane Corporation. The collapse of the company will also result in the closure or sale of 100 retail stores. This announcement has left the fate of hundreds of employees uncertain.
Beaurepaires, which was founded in 1922 by Frank Beaurepaire, a former Olympic swimmer, had been in the middle of a transition to a new business model when the collapse occurred. The company had grown to become a major player in the Australian tyre industry between the 1940s and 1960s and later merged with Nylex in 1973 before being acquired by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in the United States in 2006. In response to challenging economic conditions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodyear has decided to close down the Beaurepaires stores in an effort to turn around the company’s financial situation.
Prior to the collapse, Beaurepaires had around 240 stores across Australia and New Zealand. The closure of these stores is expected to cost the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company millions but is projected to increase the company’s annual revenue in Australia and New Zealand.
The collapse of Beaurepaires comes shortly after another well-known retailer, Godfreys, announced it had entered voluntary administration due to challenging economic conditions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The administrator of Godfreys aims to preserve as much of the business and as many jobs as possible while undergoing a restructuring that could result in the closure of 54 stores and the loss of 193 jobs.
