Les Schwab Tire Centers is a

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

retail chain operating in the western United States. Founded in 1952, the company is named for founder Les Schwab and is headquartered in the

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards ...

city of Bend. The private company employs over 7,000 people in nine western states.

History

Les Schwab founded the company with a single store in

Prineville, Oregon Prineville is a city in and the seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census. History Prineville was founded in 187 ...

, when he bought OK Rubber Welders in 1952. Corporate headquarters were moved from Prineville to Bend in 2008. From 1964 until 2011, the firm offered an innovative February "Free-Beef" promotion, to boost sales during slow late-winter months. The company was sued by the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

in 2006 over allegations of gender-based job discrimination.Hunsberger, Brent. "Suit says tire chain practices job bias", ''The Oregonian'', June 1, 2006. The EEOC suit claimed the company denied women top management positions in the company and noted that at the time of the filing there was but a single female assistant store manager. They were also sued by former employees over the same allegations in a class action lawsuit filed the same year. The federal case was settled in 2010. On December 12, 2006, Dick Borgman became CEO of the company.Mike Rogoway, "Tire giant rolls hub out of town", ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'' 13 December 2006, p. B1+ That year the company ranked as the 318th largest private company according to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

''. As of 2007, the chain operates more than 410 stores in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The company does more than $1.6 billion in sales each year, and is the second largest independent tire retailer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Founder Les Schwab died in May 2007, with ownership remaining within the family, then chairman Phil Wick died in 2010. Les Schwab Tires entered the Denver metropolitan area with five stores in October 2012, the first in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, bringing the total number of company owned stores to 374. In September 2020, CEO Jack Cuniff announced that the company would be sold to a San Francisco investment fund. The sale, to Meritage Group LP, was finalized in November 2020.

Operations

In addition to tires, the company sells a variety of other auto parts and auto-related services, including

brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

and shocks. In 2008, ''

'' magazine ranked Les Schwab as the 324th largest privately held company in the country. ''Modern Tire Dealer'' has called Les Schwab "arguably the most respected independent tire store chain in the United States."Tire industry icon Les Schwab dies at 89.
''Modern Tire Dealer'', May 18, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2011. The company closes all of its stores on Sundays, and employees were formerly known for running to customer vehicles when they pull in to park. .

References

External links

Profile of founder Les Schwab
{{Authority control Privately held companies based in Oregon American companies established in 1952 Retail companies established in 1952 Automotive part retailers of the United States Automotive repair shops of the United States Companies based in Bend, Oregon 1952 establishments in Oregon

History

Operations

See also

References

External links