Cosmo Tires recognized for marketing excellence

This publication prides itself on providing a wealth of tire and auto service information to our audience, from our Market Data Report, in which we chart numerous industry trends, to our popular list of independent tire dealerships across the U.S. and Canada, to our proprietary Global Tire Report, in which we rank the Top 75 tire makers in sales while listing every tire plant in the world.

Nothing, however, seems to be as popular or as well read as our Brands Report. Dealers tell us repeatedly that they retain a copy of our list that matches the brand with the manufacturer, not only to help customers but also to aid them in their everyday work.

There are some dealers and customers who believe brands don’t matter. They want price, longevity and performance in a tire — some in that order — brand be damned.

That’s certainly true. Who of us hasn’t been in a grocery story and opted to purchase the significantly cheaper store brand of that gallon of milk as opposed to the name brand?

But make no mistake: Brand drives sales.

The Tier 1s are just that, in part, because of their branding (and quality and reliability and OE presence).

The brand recognition that a Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Continental and Pirelli product has is invaluable.

And it’s why every other tire company that doesn’t carry that brand name allocates significant resources (time, money, personnel) to increase its brand awareness.

It’s not just tire manufacturers who emphasize branding. Tire importers promote their private brands at every opportunity: Cosmo (Tire Group International); Radar (Omni United); Eldorado (TBC Corp.); and Hercules (American Tire Distributors) among them.

Branding is so important that tire companies release news of their tire brands appearing in video games, movies, in outer space … or in any other pop-culture phenomena.

How much is a brand worth?

If that brand is Dunlop — 138 years old and counting — it’s worth a cool $735 million. That’s what Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) agreed to pay Goodyear to acquire the brand and associated intellectual property in January 2025.

The transaction included $70 million for inventory.

SRI wasted little time in trying to capitalize on the venerable brand acquisition. During the SEMA Show last year, Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. (SRNA) announced that going forward, it would be known as Dunlop Tires North America Inc., and that other Sumitomo subsidiaries around the world would adopt the Dunlop name.

Goodyear previously controlled Dunlop as part of a global alliance that ended in 2015, with each company retaining certain regional rights.

To illustrate the value of the Dunlop brand, last year — while waiting on its new North American owner — it ranked fifth behind four Tier 1 behemoths for brand value in 2024 by Brand Finance, a London-based independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy. Brand Finance will release its latest tire brand valuations in June.

With Dunlop now part of its past, Goodyear turned its attention to the Eagle brand of tires, rolling out an aggressive marketing campaign centered around one of its legacy brands.

It’s interesting to note that prominent brands (Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli and, of course, Dunlop, among them) carry the names of prominent men who have made a significant contribution to the tire industry.

They are brands that seemingly will live forever.