Total has agreed to establish a chain of quick lube centers in Europe in cooperation with Finnish tire retailer Vianor.
Total officials said the company partnered with Vianor because it has a similar strategy. Both companies are in a fast expanding phase in the region and are as such complementary to each other in developing the oil change business together in the area, Jean Louis Bonenfant, Total Refining and Marketings vice president of the Northern Europe Central Oriental & CEI region.
The agreement calls for the companies to establish quick lubes at Vianor service centers, which install tires and provide other maintenance services to passenger cars and trucks. The companies have not yet settled on a name for the quick lube operations, but some have already opened at Vianor centers in Finland and Bulgaria with others scheduled to open in coming months in Norway, Russia and Poland.
Total did not specify a target number of quick lubes but noted that Vianor has 800 outlets in 20 European countries. That number has grown by 150 in the past year, and Vianor, which is based in Nokia, Finland, plans to increase the number to 1,500 by 2015.
From Totals perspective, the project is similar to previous initiatives that established quick lube chains in the Middle East and North America.
This is something we do to develop brand recognition in areas where we dont have large numbers of fuel stations, Laurent Siret, Total Refining and Marketings deputy manager for Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, told Lube Report.