Building The Tire Shop Of The Future With On-Demand Service

When Zohr Co-Founder and CEO Komal Choong and Co-founder and COO Anoop Choong were in college, they would flip cars and car parts on the side. While they were buying and selling a lot of those vehicles, Komal told PYMNTS in an interview that “we realized how painful the experience was for the consumer going into a traditional tire shop or repair facility.” They often wondered why the industry hadn’t changed since its founding over a century ago, and why a tire shop couldn’t come directly to a consumer’s home or office.

The two decided to build a company that provides that kind of offering from their driveway. They started by offering to change tires for close friends and family. From there, Komal said, it just “grew very organically.”

Now that Zohr has launched in its second city with more to come, Komal noted that people appreciate the level of service they provide. The idea is to take the tire industry into the 21st century and set the standard for mobile tire installation moving forward—in essence, to build the tire shop of the future.

The Experience

Zohr’s shopping experience is, in a sense, a matter of pushing a button and getting new tires. The process should only take five or 10 minutes if the consumer knows what he or she needs, he said.

Consumers start by visiting the company’s website and selecting tires based on the year, make or model of their vehicle or based on tire size. From there, consumers are given a “large assortment of different tires to choose from,” including all of the major tire brands across all price ranges, Komal said. The company also offers financing, so consumers who are strapped for cash can still get new tires and drive safely.

Consumers can purchase their selected tires online through Zohr’s website, via a personal mobile device, laptop or PC. They can select a time window that works best for them – early morning, early afternoon or late afternoon. After an order is placed, the company confirms a precise two-hour window, using a just in time (JIT) logistics system to fill orders.

Tires flow in and out of Zohr’s facility day in and day out. The company also has its own service trucks and its own employees perform the services. “This is not being contracted out,” Komal said. “It’s all done in-house” to maintain a high level of quality service.

That’s part of the reason Zohr keeps a Net Promoter Score well into the 90s and has several thousand five-star reviews from current customers, Komal pointed out.

When it comes to service, the company brings the new tires to the consumer’s home or work location. It installs them, balances them and takes away old tires for recycling. The company also offers tire rotation, flat tire repair and TPMS service.

Komal said that what distinguishes Zohr from other players is the proprietary in-house technology it has built to power the business. And it is not necessarily just a tire retailer – Komal said it is more of a logistics company that also happens to sell and install tires.

When it comes to demographics, the company finds that the majority of its customers are male, but its services do appeal to busy mothers as well. The company services the two metroplexes of Kansas City and Dallas. Both cities are relatively spread out, so people have longer commute times. There are also a lot of busy working professionals and big corporate headquarters in both of those metro areas.

Within three to five years, Zohr plans to have expanded into most major metro areas across the country. Komal noted that the company will be diving deep into each market and increasing market share by that time. He added that Zohr must work with the right people to achieve the level of growth it is seeking. Komal noted that the company is currently at work on many potential deals and partnerships to enable a meaningful scale.

With the help of technology and an on-demand business model, digital innovators like Zohr aim to change the way consumers buy their tires ⁠— and avoid the trek to a garage.