Monro, Inc., the company that used to be known in its title for mufflers and brakes, is taking the wraps off it rebranding campaign. It now calls many of its locations, Monro Auto Service and Tire Centers, moving away from the Monro Muffler Brake & Service brand.
CEO Brett Ponton says that better reflects the wide variety of auto services that the stores now provide.
“Monro today currently does over 50 percent of our sales...tire-related, across our 9 retail brands that make up our company portfolio. So we felt with our Monro (brand) it was important to tell consumers through our signage that we are more than just brakes and service and exhaust, we also offer tire service,” Ponton told WXXI News.
Monro is also involved in a $75 million capital improvement campaign. It has nearly 1,200 stores in 28 states, but Ponton says the company continues to keep its headquarters in Rochester.
It was founded here 61 years ago.
“We have every intention here to stay committed to Monroe County, Rochester in particular; we love what we’re building here, we are very proud of our heritage and our history that stemmed from Rochester, we’re proud to be part of this wonderful community in upstate new York,” Ponton said.
Monro has more than 500 people employed locally, including at their store support center on Holleder Parkway along with a distribution facility.
Officials say once the pilot phase of the new branding in Rochester is complete in December, Monro will roll out its new branding and modernize stores at all locations nationwide over the next three to five years.
Monro also recently aligned with Amazon.com for additional tire sales.
