Halfords puts its foot on pedal to pass £1bn in sales
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Version 0 of 1. Halfords, the bicycle and car parts business teetering on the verge of collapse less than a decade ago, has seen sales top £1bn for the first time in its 123-year history. The news emerged as the new chief executive, Jill McDonald, said she would continue the strategy put in place by her predecessor, Matt Davies, who left to join Tesco as UK boss. The chairman, Dennis Millard, also sought to lay to rest analysts’ concerns that stores could soon be shut. He said: “Ninety-nine per cent of our stores are profitable, so we aren’t facing a situation like the supermarkets that we need to do something about. We’re trying to put that [rumour] to bed.” Halfords has refurbished 45 of its 450 shops and plans to increase the number of bicycle-only Cycle Republic stores from five to 15 this year. Mr Millard also said some rival retailers had asked if Halfords stores could be used as click-and-collect destinations. Halfords’ sales jumped by 6.9 per cent to £1bn in the year to 27 March as pre-tax profits rose 11.3 per cent to £80.8m. Its retail and autocentres performed strongly, with sales up 7 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively. Continued growth in sales of bicycles saw 1.3 million sold in the year, with purchases of premium models jumping by 25 per cent and children’s cycles up 13 per cent. The company’s WeFit service grew by 14 per cent as more customers used it to have car batteries, windscreen wipers and bulbs fitted. During its busiest week, 100,000 bulbs were installed by technicians. There was some disappointment, however, as the margins across both the retail and autocentre divisions dropped, but Mr Millard said this was to be expected as bicycles typically had lower profit margins and autocentres were selling more branded products, which also made less profits. He added: “The external experts who have been pretty accurate in the past are predicting a 5 per cent growth and, if you look at the Government’s commitment to cycling, it’s very vibrant and alive. We think the environment is right for growth. It’s healthy, it’s fun and all the signs are good for cycling.” Ms McDonald also gave her initial impressions, three weeks into her new job. She said: “I’ve spent time with the board to really understand the Getting into Gear strategy and it has my support. I might have some of my own views, but I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t agree.” |