Halfords gears up for revenue growth in 2015
THE UK’S growing passion for cycling helped to boost Halfords Group’s performance in the quarter ended 3 July.
The company posted strong sales across all divisions in a trading update yesterday and said guidance for the full year remains unchanged.
Premium bikes sales were up by eight per cent, while revenue in cycle repairs grew by 24 per cent.
The autocentres side of the company grew revenue by five per cent and the firm cited a good performance in car maintenance, with parts up by seven per cent and workshop up by 10 per cent.
Car enhancement revenues, which includes in-car connectivity equipment and dash cams, shot up by 31 per cent.
The group’s retail business, which encompasses its bike stores, saw revenue climb by 3.4 per cent, and online retail sales were up 8.2 per cent, with customers opting to collect 91 per cent of those online orders in store.
Halfords’ new brand, Cycle Republic, continued to grow, as the fifth store opened in May and further openings planned across the country.
Halfords boss Jill McDonald said the group is “on track with the retail trading initiatives and autocentres priorities we outlined in June”.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity noted that Halfords’ turnaround strategy, known as the Getting into Gear plan, is “gathering momentum”.