Les Schwab Dies at the Age of 89 in Prineville, Oregon

He will be missed by many in the Northwest where Les Schwab Tires is an everyday word.

Les Schwab with Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski Photo courtesy: Oregon Governor's Office

(PRINEVILLE, Ore.) - Les Schwab, founder of the Les Schwab Tire Company, died in Prineville today after several months of declining health, according to a company Website. He was born October 3, 1917 in Bend.

Les Schwab is both the chain of tires stores based in Prineville, Oregon and the name of the man who founded the company in 1952.

As of 2007, the Les Schwab Tire Center chain operates more than 400 stores in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, does more than $1.5 billion in sales each year, and, according to the AP, is the number two private tire retailer in the United States.

On December 12th 2006, the company announced that it would be moving the corporate headquarters to nearby Bend, where a growing number of its executives live. Dick Borgman became CEO on the same day.

In the Pacific Northwest, the flashy red and yellow pole signs are easily recognized. The company is also known for its well-groomed dress code including above the collar hair cuts, associates who sprint to customers’ vehicles as they pull in to park, the annual February “Free-Beef” promotion designed in 1963 to boost sales during slow winter months, the closing of all Les Schwab stores on Sundays, and the “If We Can’t Guarantee It, We Won’t Sell It” slogan recited by Mr. Schwab himself, in nearly all the company’s television ads.

He will be missed by many in the Northwest where Les Schwab Tires is an everyday word.