ANDONIAN TAKES OUTSIDE SHOT WITH EVANS TIRE
By: Andrew Peterson – For The North County Times
North County Times, CA
Nov 23 2006
ESCONDIDO — In the scramble and scrap of schoolyard basketball,
quickness and drive can nullify the advantages of size and height
— a good thing for someone like John Andonian, who stood 5 feet 5
inches tall when he played guard for Hoover High in Los Angeles in
the early 1970s. Then as now, what he lacked in height he made up
for with desire.
"I had some basic talents and then my ambition to win," Andonian,
chief executive officer of Evans Tire Co., said by phone recently.
"My strength was my quickness and my defense. I (also) had a good
outside shot."
More than 30 years later, Andonian still prefers the David role to
that of Goliath. Defying the odds and tire industry giants such as
Costco and Firestone, he has grown revenues at Evans from $9 million
to $22 million in six years.
A family-run business based in Escondido, the company’s fortunes were
sagging when Andonian took the helm. He was, in effect, buying the
nine-store chain from himself, as Evans was owned by AKH Discount
Tires, which was run by Andonian and his brothers.
The franchise was a fixer-upper.
"Even though we had been in the market for almost 20 years, the name
identity was very low," he recalled.
He found the stores in need of remodeling and the work force in need
of motivating.
He made other changes, too — such as a bold new purple and yellow
color scheme for the stores, which now number 16, and a higher
marketing profile in print and radio. But Evans needed more to draw
attention to itself in the competitive San Diego market. Andonian
realized that it couldn’t just be price.
"If it’s just about price, you’ve got the Wal-Marts of the world and
the Costcos, and you just can’t compete with them," he said.
The differentiator, he saw, was customer service, or "value-added
programs." Evans offers free alignment on purchases of selected tire
brands, as well as free tickets to such places as the San Diego Zoo
or Legoland California.
In recent years, the tire business has changed, he said, with customer
demand pushing auto companies to offer more tire options for their
cars. "Ten to 15 years ago, 20 tire sizes hypothetically covered 60
percent of the market," Andonian said. "Now, you need maybe 40 or 50
sizes to cover 40 percent of the market."
Some things haven’t changed. Evans is still very much a family
enterprise. Andonian, married 20 years to his wife, Cynthia, says
all three of their children have shown an interest in working in
the business — particularly his son Alex, 20, who attends Southern
Methodist University in Dallas: "My theory is go to school. Graduate.
Go work somewhere for a couple years — then let’s talk about it."
It’s an attitude Andonian’s parents would recognize and respect. "My
parents wanted more for their kids," said Andonian, whose Armenian
family immigrated to the United States in 1969.
For his part, he has thrived and prospered on the slopes of uphill
battles. He said stepping in to run an already-successful company
wouldn’t be the same.
"Keeping the status quo would be OK," Andonian said. "But certainly
fixing (a company) and growing it would be more challenging for me. I
like to run companies, I like to make them successful. I like to make
them winners."
ESCONDIDO — In the scramble and scrap of schoolyard basketball,
quickness and drive can nullify the advantages of size and height —
a good thing for people like Evans Tire CEO John Andonian, who stood
5’5" when he played guard for Hoover High in Los Angeles in the early
70s. Then as now, what he lacked in height he made up for with desire.
"I had some basic talents and then my ambition to win," he said by
phone recently. "My strength was my quickness and my defense. I (also)
had a good outside shot."
More than thirty years later Andonian still prefers the David role
to that of Goliath, defying the odds and tire industry giants like
Costco and Firestone by growing Evans revenues from $9 million to
$22 million in six years.
A family-run business based in Escondido, Evans Tire’s fortunes were
sagging when Andonian took the helm, in effect buying the nine-store
chain from himself, since Evans was owned by AKH Discount Tires,
which in turn was run by Andonian and his brothers.
The franchise was a fixer-upper.
"Even though we had been in the market for almost 20 years, the name
identity was very low," he recalled.
He found the stores in need of remodeling and the workforce in need
of motivating.
He made other changes too — like a bold new purple and yellow color
scheme for the stores (which now number 16), and a higher marketing
profile in print and radio. But Evans needed more to draw attention
to itself in the competitive San Diego market. Andonian realized it
couldn’t just be price.
"If it’s just about price you’ve got the Wal-Marts of the world and the
Costcos, and you just can’t compete with them. They’re just too big."
The differentiator, he saw, was customer service. To do this he used
what he called "value-added programs".
"We include free alignments (on purchases of selected tire brands),"
he said. "And we’re always offering things like free zoo or Legoland
tickets OWe’re offering a one-stop shop where you can buy your tires
and brakes and alignments O
If you go to Costco or WalMart you’re just going to get the tires."
The changes, while effective, took time to boost the company’s
bottom line.
"At the beginning of the second year, it started," Andonian said.
In the meantime the tire business has changed; customer demand has
pushed auto companies to offer more tire options for their cars.
"Ten to fifteen years ago, twenty tire sizes hypothetically covered 60%
of the market," Andonian said. "Now you need maybe 40 or 50 sizes to
cover 40% of the market."
Some things haven’t changed. Evans is still very much a family
enterprise. Andonian, married twenty years to his wife Cynthia, says
all three of their children have shown an interest in working in
the business — particularly his son Alex, 20, who attends Southern
Methodist University in Dallas.
"My theory is go to school. Graduate. Go work somewhere for a couple
years — then let’s talk about it."
It’s an attitude Andonian’s parents would recognize and respect.
Andonian’s family history includes his Armenian grandparents’ flight
from genocide at the hands of the Turks in 1915 into Syria. The family
immigrated to the United States in 1969.
"My parents wanted more for their kids," said Andonian, who attributes
his competitive nature to his father, who passed away ten years ago.
For his part, he’s thrived and prospered on the slopes of uphill
battles. He said stepping in to run an already-successful company
wouldn’t be the same.
"Keeping the status quo would be okay," Andonian said. "But certainly
fixing (a company) and growing it would be more challenging for me. I
like to run companies, I like to make them successful — I like to
make them winners."
