Winston Tire Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Winston Tire Co., one of the nation’s largest independent tire retail chains, has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors while it reorganizes. The Chapter 11 petition was filed Tuesday in federal Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles.

Industry sources said the regional tire retailer has struggled for years as the industry consolidates.

Although Burbank-based Winston Tire is a large independent with 133 stores, all in California, it was limited by selling mostly its own Winston tires.

The company, a unit of Louisiana-based Performance Management Inc. since May, has 1,100 employees and reported 2001 revenue of about $100 million.

The company said it recently secured a $1-million line of credit and is in the process of securing an additional $2 million to $5 million in credit from suppliers.