Les Schwab Tire Centers, based in Bend, is expanding this year into Southern California with five new stores scheduled to open this month and in July, according to a company executive.

All five are planned in California’s Inland Empire: four in Riverside County and one in San Bernardino County, said Dale Thompson, chief marketing officer for the tire retailer that started in Prineville in 1952.

The new store openings follow steady expansion into California’s Central Valley and the area in Colorado between the Denver metro area and Colorado Springs. Les Schwab, which moved its headquarters to northeast Bend in 2008, has opened 15 stores in Colorado since September 2012 and 18 in California’s Central Valley.

“We were obviously conservative during the Great Recession, but we didn’t stop growing. We opened stores every year through that period,” Thompson said. “But we saw an opportunity with real estate prices still down. We were looking well before 2012 for expansion into those markets.”

Les Schwab, a privately held company, recorded about $1.78 billion in sales last year, Thompson said. It plans further expansion into states south and east of its footprint. Thompson declined to talk specifics. The company has locations in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and one independent dealer in Alaska.

“I don’t want others to read about our growth plan,” he said, “but you can picture what south and east means.”

The company employs about 7,000 in more than 460 stores in nine states. It ranked as the third-largest employer in Central Oregon, with an estimated 870 employees in the region, according to Economic Development for Central Oregon.

The tire and auto service retailer is well-positioned for continued expansion in a very competitive sector, said Nick Mitchell, an analyst with Northcoast Research, in Cleveland, Ohio.

“Obviously, the markets that Les Schwab participates in are very competitive, regardless of the states they’re in,” Mitchell said. “They do a very good job of studying a market before they make a decision to enter that market.”

Thompson said Les Schwab’s expansion plans rely, in part, on providing opportunities for its employees to advance. For every new store, a manager and assistant manager are relocated to the new site, he said. Rank-and-file employees are hired locally, although the company will consider transfers for them, too, he said. Each store employs 10-15 people.

“Les always promised (employees) that when you’re ready for a store, we’ll build it,” Thompson said. “As we look at these new markets, we can fill in as necessary, but we need to grow opportunities for our employees, as well.”

All Les Schwab inventory moves from the Prineville distribution center, more than 1 million square feet, to its network of stores, but Thompson said another center is likely as the company expands.

Les Schwab’s business plan relies on providing value rather than discounted service and merchandise, Mitchell said.

“Competition does not scare them off,” he said. “They try to build longstanding relationships by putting customers first.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com