Bridgestone gives glimpse of e-Centre garage concept

Bridgestone has provided a glimpse of its ‘e-Centre’ garage concept, which it says reflects a significant evolution in the future of tyre retail.

Bridgestone says it partnered with accounting firm Ernst & Young to identify future Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements for tyre retailers.

Using these requirements as a guide, Bridgestone evolved this to an assessment which includes 85 different criteria. Retailers will be assessed on these standards, to enable them to achieve Bridgestone e-Centre status.

Four garages in the UK have become the first to sign up as pilot depots and have undergone an extensive assessment process featuring 85 questions, as they work to achieve Bridgestone ‘e-Centre status’ or ‘e-Centre Pioneer Status’ which Bridgestone intends to be the benchmark in retail and ESG excellence.

Bridgestone plans to assess hundreds of tyre retailers across Europe over the next couple of years, with the intention of accrediting 150 as e-Centres in a £1 million investment.

According to Bridgestone, e-Centre depots will adhere to a number of best practices including solar panel installations, staff training on premium product performance and road safety initiatives, and even hyper-local donation campaigns to support their local communities.

Bridgestone’s head of marketing UK and Ireland, and e-Centres project lead Andy Mathias said that the e-Centre concept embodies the company’s holistic approach to business around future mobility.

“We developed the Bridgestone e-Centre concept on the back of an extensive study with Ernst & Young and additionally conducted our own research with motorists, which revealed that over a third of motorists value a garage which has responsible recycling practices,” he said.

“This is one of the biggest projects we have undertaken in collaboration with our retail partners. We’re showing that we have the passion to make a tangible difference to the industry and society as a whole. A Bridgestone e-Centre will not only represent a better way of doing business, but it will represent giving customers a better experience in the future,” Mathias added.