Under the leadership of its new president and chief executive, Alan Feldman, formerly of McDonald's Corp., Midas, the Itasca-based automotive retailer and operator of 1,900 North American maintenance shops is seeking to return to profitability by reinventing itself as a full-service automotive franchise, according to the Engelberg Medill News Service on July 8. Feldman is banking the future on four initiatives to ignite same-store sales by expanding the customer base, one of which is the launch of a national fleet service in 2005. Another initiative is into the tire market. On May 1, Midas franchises became official dealers of Bridgestone-Firestone tires. "Tires are an untapped market for us," said Bob Troyer, a company representative. "Our research has shown that 20 percent of our customers are in need of tires when they come into our shops for other reasons."