When Marketing Efforts Go Flat

In the summer of 2000, Firestone (a unit of Bridgestone Corp) was hit with a massive recall of 6.5 million tires due to tread separation. Less than a year later, Ford, Firestone's largest OEM customer, announced it would replace 13 million Firestone Wilderness AT tires on its Explorer, Expedition, Ranger, and select F-150 trucks. For Firestone's competitors, this was the equivalent of being handed sales on a silver platter. The principal beneficiaries of this situation were Michelin and Goodyear, which also benefited from new car sales figures which were rocketing off the charts. With all of the astrological signs aligning in the most desired order that tire manufacturers could imagine, this should have been a time for Firestone's competitors to capture significant market share from the firm - if not to drive a stake into its corporate heart. But with the distinct advantage of hindsight, it has become obvious that neither Michelin or Goodyear was able to accomplish that.