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Big O Tires, Inc. is North America's largest franchiser of tire retailers. It is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, and has more than 540 franchises in 21 U.S. states and Canada. It sells its own Big O private brand tires and other brands. In addition to selling and servicing tires, wheels, and alignments, Big O Tires provides basic maintenance and replacement services such as oil changes, battery replacement, struts installation, and brake service. Because Big O Tires is a wholly owned subsidiary of TBC Corporation, its franchisees are located in markets that not served by the TBC-owned Tire Kingdom, NTB, and Merchant Tire chains.
History
The company was founded in 1962, when it split from OK Tires. In 1996, it was acquired by TBC Corporation, which also owns Tire Kingdom, NTB, and Merchant Tire.[1] In 2006, TBC was acquired by Sumitomo Corporation of America[2]. Big O Tires remains a wholly owned subsidiary of TBC Corporation.
In a landmark case in 1977, Big O Tires was awarded $19.6 million from Goodyear over Goodyear's use of the name "bigfoot" tires. The amount equaled 25% of Goodyear's advertising budget in the states where Big O operated. The amount was reduced on appeal and the case was later settled.[3]
References
- ^ "TBC to Buy Outstanding Shares of Big O Tires" The New York Times. 1996-05-03. URL retrieved 2006-12-02
- ^ "Sumitomo Corporation of America Completes Acquisition of TBC Corporation". Business Wire. 2005-11-17. URL retrieved 2006-12-02.
- ^ Doan, Amy. "Xbox Name May Cost Microsoft". Forbes. 2001-02-05. URL last retrieved 2006-12-02.
