Bridgestone outlines premium strategy, restructuring plans

Tokyo – Bridgestone Corp. has stepped up its group-wide restructuring plans after sales and earnings came in below target estimates for 2024. (ERJ report)

Under its business plan for 2025, Bridgestone will focus on increasing sales of premium tires, while reducing costs and restructuring its business across key markets.

Plans to expand high-value tire sales are centred around ensuring increased adoption of Enliten, its lightweighting, sustainable tire technology.

The target, here, is to achieve Enliten OE fitments on 170 car models in 2025, up from 117 models in 2024, the Tokyo-headquartered group said 17 Feb.

Bridgestone is also focusing on high-rim diameter (HRD) tires, with the sales ratio of 18-inch and above tires for the OE segment slated to exceed 70% in North America and Europe.

For the replacement market, Bridgestone aims to achieve a sales ratio of above 45% for the premium tires, the statement continued.

Alongside the premium-product drive, the group is implementing cost-reduction initiatives in global procurement, supply-chain management, and on-site productivity.

Bridgestone posted savings of Yen75 billion from such measures in 2024, and expects another Yen30 billion in cost reductions this year – bringing total savings to Yen105 billion compared to 2023.

The efficiency programme is part of the ‘second stage’ of a broader 10-year restructuring process, launched by the tire & rubber product major in 2021. (ERJ report)

According to the group, it is now progressing the stage II plan: focusing particularly on North and Latin America, as well as Europe.

In Europe, Bridgestone has consolidated its retread operations: closing its Lanklaar plant in Belgium in 2024 with operations integrated into a single site in Poland.

In 2025, the group is reviewing options to further optimise production, sales, technology-centre and corporate activities in Europe, under a ‘rebuilding the business’ initiative.

The review, it said, includes an assessment of the truck & bus tire and retail operations as well as potential measures to deliver enhanced efficiency.

Streamlining plans

In the US, meanwhile, Bridgestone said the focus is on streamlining business footprint towards enhancing its position in premium-tire production.

Measures here include the recently announced closure of the LaVergne tire plant, capacity reductions at its Des Moines farm tire plant, and job cuts across corporate, sales and 'operations' functions.

The group will also be ‘rebuilding’ its diversified products business in North America in 2025, according to the statement.

For Latin America, Bridgestone said it aimed to “transform” the shape of business: focusing on cost-optimisation in Argentina and Brazil via reductions in production capacity and workforce.

In Asia (Bridgestone East), the group aims to streamline its “multi-layer” structure in Japan and restructure its replacement tire wholesale and retail operations in Japan and Thailand.

Furthermore, the group will intensify its focus on increasing sales of premium passenger car tires in China.