The document discusses the history and business of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, a global tire manufacturer founded in 1898 in Akron, Ohio. It details Goodyear's dominance in the early tire industry and describes its product portfolio including tires for cars, trucks, aircraft and heavy machinery. The text also examines Goodyear's Aquatred tire development in the 1990s, consumer brand preferences between Goodyear and Michelin at that time, and managers' concerns around launching the new Aquatred product.

4. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is a global
manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank
Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. It manufactures tires
for automobiles, commercial trucks , light trucks, SUVs, race
cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover
machinery. Since the early days of the tire industry, The
Goodyear Rubber and Tire Company had been known as
“The Gorilla” for its dominance of the world tire industry.

25. Auto services included jobs such as oil changes,
tune-ups, and front-end alignments, as well as
repairs to parts such as brakes or transmissions
Monthly auto service sales for
independent tire dealers averaged
$38,100 per outlet

26. In 1991, Goodyear and Michelin were virtually
even, but Michelin’s image was stronger
among value-oriented and quality buyers,
while Goodyear had a stronger image among
price-constrained buyers and commodity
buyers. The percentage of consumers who
did not know what brand
of tire they planned to buy next rose to 53% in
1992 from 36% in 1982.

27. The Aquatred was developed
after comparing 10 different
designs on performance and
consumer preference. The
deep groove down the center
of the tire was dubbed the
“Aquachannel.”

28. Managers at Goodyear still had two concerns about
the launch. First, did Goodyear have the
right product for the dealers and for the consumer?
In addition, Goodyear had to finalize pricing and
promotional policies for the Aquatred.
Goodyear hoped to price the Aquatred at a 10%
premium over the Invicta GS