It was a shock to @lesschwab manager’s when the company abruptly summoned them to a conference call – two nights before Christmas – to deliver the news: Schwab Tire is for sale. (1/10)
@LesSchwab In a public statement the next day, the company cited the difficulties of running a business in its fifth generation of family ownership, which now includes Les Schwab’s great-great grandchildren. (2/10)
The company said it believes its best chance to grow and thrive, as it approaches $2 billion in annual sales, rests with a deep-pocketed new owner. (3/10)
“We believe a new owner – one with deep experience and resources – will carry forward the Les Schwab vision far into the future,” Schwab’s descendants said in a written statement. They said the expect to take several months to find a buyer. (4/10)
There is no guarantee, though, that a new owner’s vision will align with Les Schwab’s. The tire baron , who died in 2007, had some unconventional notions about how to run a business – ideas he admitted were expensive but that he insisted helped make his business. (5/10) 
A new owner might not see the business the same way. Or new owners might see opportunities for changes that might boost profits but undermine the core business. (6/10)
Oregon has endured a spate of such misfires following the sales of Tektronix, G.I. Joe’s and several other of the state’s best-known businesses. (7/10)
Prineville and nearby Bend – where Schwab tire moved its headquarters the year after its founder died – are no longer single-industry towns reliant on the fading timber market. (8/10)
Data centers, breweries, tourism and small industries have made them more economically durable than they have been in decades. (9/10)
And yet there’s only one Les Schwab -- only one company on that scale anywhere in the region -- and any change at the tire company could have broad ripple effects.
Read the full story: bit.ly/2So4zoX (10/10)
Read the full story: bit.ly/2So4zoX (10/10)
